Shell and the Common Ground Alliance Team Up With Penske Racing to Raise Awareness of National Safe Digging Month

HOUSTON, March 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- For the third consecutive season, Shell and the Common Ground Alliance are teaming up to raise awareness of 811, the national 'Call Before You Dig' number. Shell will leverage its partnership with Penske Racing in an effort to protect America's underground infrastructure. During National Safe Digging Month in April, the 811 logo will run on the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge driven by Kurt Busch.

"Penske Racing fully supports the 'Call Before You Dig Campaign' and is proud to join the ongoing efforts of Shell and the Common Ground Alliance during National Safe Digging Month," said Roger Penske. "We encourage everyone to call 811 before doing any digging."

Rushing on building, landscaping or excavation projects can lead to both poor quality work and dangerous situations. Hitting an underground facility can knock out power or gas to an entire neighborhood, in addition to potentially causing injury to the digger and other people in the vicinity. A digger could be held financially responsible for repairs if they don't call 811 and damage infrastructure while digging. Every digging project requires a call to 811 – even small projects, like planting trees or shrubs.

"We are excited to have 811 represented on the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge during every race in April," said Greg Smith, President, Shell Pipeline Company LP. "In three years of leveraging our motorsports alliances, we have seen tremendous increase in calls to 811 and awareness of National Safe Digging Month. Capitalizing on the entire month of April will allow us to reach key audiences, including many who will be conducting home digging projects in the coming year."

A quick and easy call to 811 will connect you with a local One Call Center operator who will record information about your dig location and notify the underground facility operators so they can mark the approximate location of underground utilities such as natural gas and oil pipelines below your project. Once the lines are marked, you can begin to dig confident that you know what's below.

For more information, visit www.call811.com.

Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Royal Dutch Shell plc, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies with 101,000 employees in more than 90 countries. We deliver a diverse range of energy solutions and petrochemicals to customers worldwide. These include transporting and trading oil and gas, marketing natural gas, producing and selling fuel for ships and planes, generating electricity and providing energy efficiency advice. We also produce and sell petrochemical building blocks to industrial customers globally, and we are investing in making renewable and lower-carbon energy sources competitive for large-scale use. In the U.S., we operate in 50 states and employ more than 20,000 people delivering energy in a responsible manner.

SOURCE Shell Oil Company