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Upstream

Question 1 of 18

As oil reserves become more difficult to find, it is important that Shell makes good investment
decisions on where to drill wells. This is to help Shell maximise oil extraction in the long term.
You are asked to recommend which sites Shell should invest in for drilling. What factors would
you take into account in this situation?

1. Counterproductive 2. Ineffective 3. Neutral 4. Effective 5. Highly Effective

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You would recommend investing in the sites which are most
A. financially profitable for the Upstream business in the long
term.
You would recommend investing in the sites which are most
B.
strategically valuable in the long term.
You would recommend investing in the sites which are most
C.
financially profitable for the Shell enterprise in the long term.
You would recommend investing in the sites which will
D.
provide an immediate financial return.
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Upstream

Question 2 of 18

Well pressure has an established pattern of behaviour that you observe through regular
measurement. When reviewing the data from 10 wells, you notice that the pressure in one well is
different to what was predicted. This data will be used to decide whether to intervene in the well,
which is a costly exercise. As a graduate reservoir engineer working on this project, what would
be your first response?

1. Counterproductive 2. Ineffective 3. Neutral 4. Effective 5. Highly Effective

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Report the issue immediately so that the Well Manager can
A.
investigate it.
Engage with senior reservoir engineers to better understand
B.
why this well may be different to what was predicted.
Apply your own knowledge and analysis models to better
C.
understand the issue.
Ask for new data, using alternative measuring tools, to check
D.
whether the data is accurate.
Upstream

Question 3 of 18

Shell geoscientists use seismic data (the measurement of subsurface structures using sound
waves) to make decisions about where and how to drill for oil and gas. The system that is used to
analyse the data has limited capacity and the amount of data recently received from the
geoscientists would take months to analyse. On this occasion, Shell cannot wait that long for the
analysis. What would you recommend?

1. Counterproductive 2. Ineffective 3. Neutral 4. Effective 5. Highly Effective

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Analysing a random sample of the data and then presenting the
A. findings to the business, explaining the risks presented by using
a random sample.
Speaking to the geoscientists to discuss different options for
B. scaling down the data, considering what properties of the data
you would lose under each option.
Asking the project manager why the analysis is needed so
C. quickly and discuss the risks of progressing with limited
information versus delaying the project.
Using information from similar Shell projects done in the past
D. to decide what is likely to be the most critical parts of the data
to analyse.
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Upstream

Question 4 of 18

Shell is trying to get some new equipment approved by the National Oil Company (NOC) who
they are partnering with on a project. The equipment has been successfully used in other
countries and you want to ensure it is approved by the NOC. Your manager has asked you to
prepare a presentation about the equipment that will be shown to the NOC decision makers next
week. How would you approach this?

1. Counterproductive 2. Ineffective 3. Neutral 4. Effective 5. Highly Effective

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Speak to other countries that are using the equipment and ask
A. them to explain what works well about it; you can then share
this information with the NOC.
Find detailed information on the main features of the new
B. equipment and provide a summary of each so the NOC better
understand what this equipment can do.
Make a list of the advantages and disadvantages of the new
C. equipment compared to what is currently being used so the
NOC can make an informed decision.
Find out what the NOC’s priorities are for the project. Focus on
D. the features of the new equipment that are most relevant to these
priorities.
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Upstream

Question 5 of 18

Seismic studies can be used to estimate the likely volume of gas that could be produced from a
gas field. Two gas fields exist in close proximity and you are aware that a seismic study has
recently been conducted in the field established first. You are asked by your supervisor to
estimate the likely volume of gas from the second field. What would be your priority in
responding to this situation?

1. Counterproductive 2. Ineffective 3. Neutral 4. Effective 5. Highly Effective

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Using the existing seismic data from the first field to inform
A.
your estimation in order to save time and cost.
Recommending that seismic studies are conducted in the second
B.
field in order to provide an accurate estimation.
Checking whether there are any seismic studies being
C. conducted in the second field and if so, use this data to inform
your response.
Gathering existing seismic data from the first field and consider
D.
this alongside non-seismic data regarding the second field.
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Downstream

Our Downstream organisation is made up of a number of businesses. Collectively, these turn

crude oil and natural gas into a range of products and commodities, which are moved around the
world and marketed for domestic, industrial and transportation use.

Our Manufacturing business manages Shell’s refineries and chemical manufacturing plants,
working closely with Supply and Distribution which delivers feedstocks to the sites and finished
products such as gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel and bitumen to our Retail and Business-to-
Business (B2B) businesses.

Our Lubricants business manufactures and markets transportation and industrial lubricants and
greases, while our Chemicals business supplies chemical “building blocks” to large industrial
customers across the globe. The CO2 organisation is responsible for coordinating and driving
CO2 management activities across the company.
The global network of Shell Trading companies trades crude oil, oil products, petrochemicals,
biofuels, electricity and natural gas. The Trading business also manages the world's largest fleet
of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and is one of the world’s largest charterers of oil tonnage

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Downstream

Hi, I’m Adriana and I work in Lubricants Marketing, with a focus on Heavy Duty Engine Oils.

The basic principle of Strategic Marketing is to identify and develop the best offer in the market,
such as new products and value proposals, in order to meet expectations for different audiences.
We aim to anticipate trends and buyers’ preferences. This means identifying market segments
that will most likely provide the greatest loyalty opportunities for our services and products
offered.

As a Marketing Specialist, I always try to evaluate both the opportunities and risks for Shell
when implementing the goals set forth together with the sales team. Those actions aligned with
the market’s needs help us position us as a leader in technology and innovation.

To me, this role means being able to obtain and understand Shell’s company targets for its
products and services. And Shell’s continuous learning opportunities help me grow while on the
job.
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Downstream

Question 6 of 18

A manufacturer of pipeline repair equipment has invited you to visit their site to see how their
equipment is made. You have never used the equipment that they sell, so do not know very much
about it or the supplier. You know that Shell will need to use this equipment or similar in the
future so you accept the invitation. What are your key aims for the visit?

1. Counterproductive 2. Ineffective 3. Neutral 4. Effective 5. Highly Effective

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To find out as much as possible. You will use the visit to let the
A. supplier tell you about the equipment and then follow up
afterwards to ask further questions.
To speak to the supplier about the cost options for buying and
B. hiring the equipment; you need this information to decide if the
equipment is attractive to Shell or not.
To find out as much as possible. Before the visit, you will ask
C. your team what they would like to find out and will use the visit
to ensure that you gather this information.
To focus on building a strong relationship with the supplier; this
D. is essential if you need to buy or hire their equipment to repair a
pipeline in the future.
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Downstream

Question 7 of 18

One of Shell’s plants is having a problem getting supplies of a particular chemical to create its
lubricant products. The supply problem is starting to have an impact on the plant’s ability to
meet customer demand. You have spoken to the supplier but they have not come up with an
adequate solution to meet the plant’s requirements. What would you do?

1. Counterproductive 2. Ineffective 3. Neutral 4. Effective 5. Highly Effective

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Speak to the supplier and say that you will terminate their
A. contract unless they start to supply enough of the chemical, as
was agreed with them.
Speak to other Shell plants within the region to see if they are
B. experiencing similar problems. If not, see if another plant can
help you supply your customers.
Speak to other Shell plants within the region to see if they are
C. experiencing the same problem. If not, see if their suppliers can
also supply your plant.
Ask Shell researchers to try to adjust the lubricant formula to
D.
achieve the same quality with less chemical, to meet customer
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demand with existing supplies.

You are supporting the risk forecasting team to predict areas of risk to the Downstream business.
Shell has won a contract to supply large quantities of a lubricant product to a location that is a
long distance from the manufacturing plant. This requires a lengthy development and shipping
time. You are asked to consider the key risks to the project and advise on the priorities for
managing this risk. How would you respond?

1. Counterproductive 2. Ineffective 3. Neutral 4. Effective 5. Highly Effective

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Highlight the risk of suppliers running out of the required
A. quantities of the raw material for production; focusing on
ensuring that enough products can be produced on time.
Highlight the risk of not having sufficient storage for the
B. product before it is shipped; focusing on ensuring that a solution
for storing large quantities of product can be reached.
Highlight the risk of not having efficient methods of shipping
C. the product; focusing on ensuring that the required amount of
product can be transported on time.
Highlight the risk of your supply chain not being able to deliver
D. the specified quantities on time; focusing on ensuring that
enough products can be supplied on time.

Shell is in the process of developing innovative uses for sulphur, a naturally occurring by-
product of oil and gas production. One use for sulphur is as a component in a fertiliser to
increase crop yields. Shell is currently exploring further options for the use of sulphur. You work
in the Downstream business and have been asked to recommend how Shell can best respond to
this challenge. What would you do?

1. Counterproductive 2. Ineffective 3. Neutral 4. Effective 5. Highly Effective

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Speak to your colleague who has worked on the fertiliser project
A. to get a better understanding of your options for new
applications of sulphur.
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Speak to your colleagues in the commercial area of the business
B. to understand more about where the demands for sulphur based
products might be.
Gather some experts from across the business to share
C. knowledge and generate ideas; this will help you generate a
range of possible options.
Look at what other sulphur based products exist on the market
D. so you can consider how Shell is best able to differentiate itself
with a new sulphur product.

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Downstream

Question 10 of 18

Shell has recently replaced an old fuel card scheme. The old scheme ends in two weeks’ time and
those fuel cards will no longer be accepted as fuel payment. Despite having been notified of the
changes a few months ago, over 1,000 customers have not yet registered for the new scheme.
What action would you suggest as your first response?

1. Counterproductive 2. Ineffective 3. Neutral 4. Effective 5. Highly Effective

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Immediately contacting all customers with a reminder about the
A.
new scheme, its benefits and details of how to register for it.
Setting up a dedicated customer support line to assist customers
B. individually when they next try to use their fuel card and find it
is not working.
Inviting all customers who have not yet registered to attend an
C. online briefing session which explains the benefits of the new
scheme and how to register for it.
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Sending an email to all retail sites informing staff of the issue
D. and giving them information about what to tell customers who
try to use the old fuel cards.

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Projects & Technology

Hello, my name is Anthony and I work in Projects & Technology (P&T). P&T is the engine
through which Shell delivers all its major projects globally to a world-class standard. It is also
the hub through which industry-differentiating innovation, research and development is nurtured
and matured, ready for deployment across Shell’s businesses. This means we work closely
together with Shell’s other businesses (Upstream and Downstream).

I work as a Process Engineer in Upstream Projects within P&T. Examples of some of the
projects we have delivered include Pearl GTL in Qatar, the world’s largest facility for the
production of cleaner fuels and petroleum equivalent products from natural gas, and Perdido in
the Gulf of Mexico, which at 2450m of water depth is one of our most challenging deepwater
projects yet. Delivering such complex projects requires us to continuously push boundaries, both
in terms of technology and in project management.
I hope that you have enjoyed learning about Projects & Technology. To give you a better idea of
the work that we do, there are several questions on the following pages for you to answer.

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Projects & Technology

Question 11 of 18

You are working as part of a project team who have been tasked with researching well design
improvements with the objective of minimising the well’s impact on the surrounding
environment. How do you approach your research?

1. Counterproductive 2. Ineffective 3. Neutral 4. Effective 5. Highly Effective

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Focus on one test case for well design; this will allow you to
A. present a thorough piece of research and a strong business case
for dealing with the issue.
Examine what Shell’s competitors are doing in this area; this
B. will provide good direction for your research efforts and will
allow you to consider current innovations.
Look at current well design and identify where improvements
C. need to be made, speaking to engineering colleagues who have
expertise in this area for their ideas.
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Research multiple options for well design improvements and
D. consider the advantages and disadvantages of the different
designs in order to arrive at an optimal solution.

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Projects & Technology

Question 12 of 18

You are helping to develop a strategy for expanding the range of products that Shell will develop
and sell over the next 10 years. There are many actions that Shell could take to enhance its
product portfolio and your team are asked to advise what Shell’s priorities should be in
developing new products. What is your priority in this situation?

1. Counterproductive 2. Ineffective 3. Neutral 4. Effective 5. Highly Effective

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Shell should use its internal expertise to design and develop
A. new products, enhancing the knowledge of Shell employees for
the long-term.
Shell should collaborate with external product and technology
B. experts to leverage the development of new products and
increase Shell’s capacity.
Shell should focus on developing products internally to be
C. patented to provide strategic value to the enterprise in the long-
term.
Shell should focus on adopting the most cost-effective strategy
D.
of developing products to rival those of its major competitors.
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Projects & Technology

Question 13 of 18

Shell is currently investing in the development of seismic imaging technology. Recent advances
in high performance computing mean that work on such imaging technologies is viable. This
technology is very important to Shell and it is vital that Shell’s competitors do not know too
much about what Shell are investing in. How do you think Shell can make the best of this
opportunity?

1. Counterproductive 2. Ineffective 3. Neutral 4. Effective 5. Highly Effective

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By keeping abreast of what the competitors are doing regarding
A. seismic imaging technology; it is critical that Shell is able to
differentiate itself from its competitors.
By gathering the views of external seismic experts; their ideas
B. about how the work is currently done will help provide direction
for this future research.
By ensuring that the area is not invested in too heavily at first
C. until the specific payback and benefits are investigated to ensure
that it is worthwhile.
D. By setting up a specific project to pilot the application of initial
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research efforts; this will ensure Shell is clear about the specific
value the new technology will bring.

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Projects & Technology

Question 14 of 18

You have recently analysed a lot of data for a task which had no urgent deadline. For this, you
were asked to specify all safety risks that would occur if the climate were to change in a region
where Shell is drilling offshore. You were given a specific brief and worked hard to deliver this.
However, one stakeholder thinks the work is unsatisfactory and has asked you to redo your
analysis. What do you do?

1. Counterproductive 2. Ineffective 3. Neutral 4. Effective 5. Highly Effective

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Start again because there is no deadline; it is a good lesson as
A. next time you will ensure you fully understand the scope before
beginning work.
Start again but before you do, you would call the stakeholder to
B. discuss the scope and agree upon the specific changes that need
to be made.
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Involve your manager as you believe you have done what was
C. asked of you; in this situation it is probably best your manager
speaks to the stakeholder.
Call the stakeholder and explain why you think the analysis is
D. sufficient; it is important that they understand the rationale
behind your approach.

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Global Functions

Shell Global Functions covers a wide range of professions. While they each add value to the
business in a unique way, their agendas are common – to maximise business impact, to
continuously improve the function, and to attract and develop world-class people. The Global
Functions share common challenges on how to increase their “business partnering” capabilities,
how to best provide support to Joint Ventures and how to achieve better business outcomes by
improving the operating processes across the organisation. Their “people” agendas are also
shared: to provide exciting jobs and careers, along with great learning and development
opportunities, and inspirational leadership. Overall, the functions provide a great opportunity for
Shell employees to contribute to exciting businesses across the company.

Shell Global Functions include: Finance, Legal, IT, HR & Corporate (Aircraft, Communications,
Health, Real Estate, Shell Business Service Centres, Security and Travel), Safety and
Environment, Contracting & Procurement, Government Relations, Sustainable Development and
CO2. More than 20,000 employees work in these functions around the globe

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Global Functions

Hello, I’m Sirius and I work in the Human Resource function focusing on Talent &
Development.

Talent Management in Shell is about resourcing the business, developing individuals and
identifying and growing leaders.

Our work has always focused on supporting the businesses and functions to ensure that our talent
matches the present and future needs of the organisation. We aim to consistently meet
recruitment challenges globally - our Talent Assessment Process is one of the best in the market.
The review of talent takes place at the highest level of our organisation, demonstrating Shell’s
uncompromising commitment to Leadership. We have a range of leadership interventions,
including leadership programmes, to enable the development of future leadership.

I hope that you have enjoyed learning about Global Functions. To give you a better idea of the
work that we do, there are some questions on the following pages for you to answer.

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Global Functions

Question 15 of 18

You are currently working as a graduate within HR and you know that diversity is very
important to Shell. Following a recent recruitment campaign for engineers, you are analysing the
data and find that 60% of applicants were female. This is very unusual, particularly for a role of
this type and in your region. What do you do with the data?

1. Counterproductive 2. Ineffective 3. Neutral 4. Effective 5. Highly Effective

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Accept that it is probably just an anomaly. Make a note to
A. consider it against the next comparable recruitment campaign to
see if there is a trend.
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Share the information with your manager and colleagues as an
B. excellent example of the success of attempts to achieve greater
diversity.
Investigate why the results were so different to what would
C. have been expected and discuss the implications with others in
your team and your manager.
Send the results to your manager with your thoughts on why
D.
they may be different and ask for your manager’s opinion too.

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Global Functions

Question 16 of 18

Your colleague is on holiday for one week and you are covering their tasks in their absence.
Their manager sends you an urgent email with an Excel sheet attached, claiming that they have
identified a few mistakes in the output. Tackling this issue will take you a long time and you
have an important deadline for another task that your own manager has asked for. What do you
do?

1. Counterproductive 2. Ineffective 3. Neutral 4. Effective 5. Highly Effective

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Immediately review the Excel sheet, it is clearly important to
A. their manager and you are responsible for your colleague’s tasks
in their absence.
Call their manager and ask whether this is really urgent before
B. you start with this task; if it is really urgent, do everything you
can to extend your other deadline.
It is more time efficient to leave it for your colleague so you
C. would call and inform their manager about this; by the time you
have tackled this situation, your colleague will be back.
Call their manager and ask whether this is really urgent before
D. you consider starting on the task, whilst explaining that you
have an important deadline yourself.

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Global Functions

Question 17 of 18

There are currently lots of job vacancies for web developers in the IT function. You provide HR
support to the IT function and you notice that some of these vacancies are filled very quickly,
whilst others are proving more difficult to fill. You are worried about this as you have an IT
manager who urgently needs more web developers for an upcoming project. What would you do
first?
1. Counterproductive 2. Ineffective 3. Neutral 4. Effective 5. Highly Effective

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Compare the jobs that are being filled with those that are not.
A. This will show you if there is something attracting candidates to
some roles but not others.
Advertise the upcoming jobs more widely so more prospective
B. candidates will see the adverts, thus widening the candidate
pool from which you are recruiting.
Look at how you can make the role more attractive. If the
C. manager increases the pay or offers more incentives, candidates
might be more attracted to the roles.
Research the recruitment market for this role. This will tell you
D. if there are recruitment problems in the industry more widely or
if it is just some roles that are affected.

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Global Functions

Question 18 of 18

A colleague in Human Resources mentions that a number of Shell engineers have recently
accepted job offers from a rival energy company in the region. Shell wants to keep its talent so
your colleague wants to understand why these people are leaving. What would you recommend
that your colleague does?

1. Counterproductive 2. Ineffective 3. Neutral 4. Effective 5. Highly Effective

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Survey each engineer who is leaving. This will help your
A. colleague spot themes from the reasons these engineers give for
leaving.
Research the remuneration packages that rival energy
B. companies are offering to engineers and compare this to what
Shell offers.
Survey all Shell engineers in the region to ask their views. This
C. would help them identify and address some of the causes for
people leaving.
Conduct research on the rival company. The differences they
D. find between Shell and that company will help them understand
why the engineers are leaving.