One Step Closer To Crowning The 2013 Shell V-Power® Ultimate Enthusiast

HOUSTON, Nov. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Automotive enthusiasts from across the country submitted entries to the Shell V-Power^® "Ultimate Enthusiast" Contest this summer, sharing their compelling stories behind their love of all things automotive. After carefully reviewing the entries, a judging panel made up of top automotive experts selected three finalists whose entries best exemplified the qualities of an Ultimate Enthusiast: Josh Seely of Haze, Ark., David Taube of Eugene, Ore., and Ronald Varley of St. Louis, Mo.

"While all of our Ultimate Enthusiast entrants impressed us with their passion for automotives, these three finalists stood out for their originality and unique journey to becoming an automotive enthusiast," said Elizabeth Hudson, US Fuels Category Manager at Shell Oil Products US. "We're thrilled to recognize these enthusiasts by providing all of them with a year's worth of Shell V-Power – our best, most technically advanced gasoline – and a VIP automotive experience at Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction."

In his entry, Seely impressed the judges with his passion for automobiles from a young age, stripping and restoring a car at just 15 years old. He also still owns his first car and has restored it twice. "Holding on to your first car in these tough economic times when everyone is looking to trade in or upgrade is a huge accomplishment for any auto enthusiast," said Roger Penske, an Ultimate Enthusiast judge and founder and chairman of Penske Corporation. "Finding the time to restore that car more than once is even more impressive!" 

Taube's formula for driving excitement is cruising Route 66 in his 1956 Oldsmobile Holiday Sedan from Chicago to California while attending baseball games and local events along the way struck the judges as the ultimate adventure. "Driving Route 66 in a vintage car - now that is the Ultimate Enthusiast adventure," said Eddie Alterman, an Ultimate Enthusiast judge and editor-in-chief of Car and Driver.  "What a wonderful way to make amazing memories."

Taking a creative approach to his entry, Varley explained why he is the Ultimate Enthusiast by creating a patient record, complete with a doctor's note outlining his addiction to all things automotive. His prognosis was deemed "incurable." "Ronald's entry was unique and creative," said Penske. "I've never seen someone describe their love for an automobile in terms of a patient record – but his prognosis is certainly a compelling case!" 

The three finalists will be flown to Scottsdale, Ariz. for a three-day, VIP experience at the 43^rd Annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction being held January 12-19, 2014. The experience will include access to the world famous car auction and an invitation to Barrett-Jackson's opening night gala on January 13, 2014, where the grand prize winner will be announced. The grand prize winner and a guest will receive a once-in-a-lifetime Ultimate Enthusiast week in Italy, including an exclusive experience with Ferrari in its hometown of Maranello, Italy. This year, the grand prize winner also has the opportunity to win $5,000 of Shell V-Power premium gasoline for his car club.

"We are excited to bring the Shell V-Power Ultimate Enthusiast Contest finalists back to our world famous Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Scottsdale," said Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of the Barrett-Jackson Auction Company. "Given the finalists' passion for cars and car culture, we are excited for them to interact with other enthusiasts and explore our auction which houses some of the most historic and recognizable automobiles in the world."

To pamper their beloved vehicles, all finalists will receive a year's worth* of Shell V-Power Premium Gasoline. The Ultimate Enthusiast deserves the ultimate experience and the ultimate gasoline. Shell V-Power Premium Gasoline is its best, most technically advanced gasoline that actively cleans for better performance. It removes an average of 60 percent of harmful intake valve deposits left behind by low quality premium gasoline, and starts with the very first tank. It's Ferrari's choice for improved performance.

This year, all photo submissions were also judged by the Joey Logano Foundation. Six lucky winners, including grand prize winner Heather Wuelpern of Tucson, Ariz., will have their photo featured in the official Joey Logano Foundation 2014 calendar and will receive a $100 Shell V-Power Gift Card.

For more information on the Shell "Ultimate Enthusiast" Contest and Shell V-Power, visit www.shell.us/ultimateenthusiast.  

*For the purposes of this Prize, "a year's worth of Shell V-Power Premium Gasoline®" is calculated as the average consumer's yearly gasoline consumption of 636 gallons (4.5 fuel purchases per month x 11.77 gallons of gasoline per purchase x 12 months) at an average July 3, 2013 cost of $3.819 / gallon consistent with the Oil Price Information Services national average released on July 3, 2013 (636 x $3.819 = $2,428.88).

About Shell
Shell Oil Products US, a subsidiary of Shell Oil Company, is a leader in the refining, transportation and marketing of fuels, with a network of approximately 6,000 Shell-branded gasoline stations in the western United States. Another 8,300 Shell-branded stations in the eastern and southern are managed by Motiva Enterprises LLC, a 50/50 joint venture between Shell Oil Company and Saudi Refining, Inc.

Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Royal Dutch Shell plc, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies with 93,000 employees in more than 90 countries. [(NYSE:RDS.A) and (NYSE:RDS.B)]

About The Barrett-Jackson Auction Company
Established in 1971 and headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., Barrett-Jackson specializes in providing products and services to classic and collector car owners, astute collectors and automotive enthusiasts around the world. The company produces "The World's Greatest Collector Car Auctions ™" in the finest cities in the nation. Barrett-Jackson also endorses a one-of-a-kind collector car insurance offering for collector vehicles and other valued belongings. For more information about Barrett-Jackson, visit http://www.barrett-jackson.com or call (480) 421-6694.

Definitions and cautionary statement

The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this press release "Shell", "Shell group" and "Royal Dutch Shell" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies. ''Subsidiaries'', "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as used in this press release refer to companies in which Royal Dutch Shell either directly or indirectly has control, by having either a majority of the voting rights or the right to exercise a controlling influence. The companies in which Shell has significant influence but not control are referred to as "associated companies" or "associates" and companies in which Shell has joint control are referred to as "jointly controlled entities". In this press release, associates and jointly controlled entities are also referred to as "equity-accounted investments". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect (for example, through our 23% shareholding in Woodside Petroleum Ltd.) ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''anticipate'', ''believe'', ''could'', ''estimate'', ''expect'', ''goals'', ''intend'', ''may'', ''objectives'', ''outlook'', ''plan'', ''probably'', ''project'', ''risks'', ''seek'', ''should'', ''target'', ''will'' and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this press release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell's 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2011 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov ). These factors also should be considered by the reader.  Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, November 6, 2013. Neither Royal Dutch Shell nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this press release that United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC.  U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov. You can also obtain these forms from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.

SOURCE Shell Oil Company