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Technical centres
Our technical centres are located close to our main markets and oil and gas resources across the world. They share expertise and ideas, working together to achieve results.
Technical centres around the world link up through 3D virtual reality suites to progress field development.
In Houston, the USA, Amsterdam and Rijswijk in the Netherlands, and Bangalore, India, our technical centres focus on innovation: developing new technologies and improving existing ones.
Elsewhere – including in the UK, Canada, Germany, Norway, Oman, Qatar and Singapore – seven other centres focus on product development, marketing support and providing specific technical assistance to regional operations.
For issues that relate to all our businesses and operations, such as CO2 solutions or oil conversion processes, our technical teams integrate to share knowledge and work efficiently. Our centres can link up through 3D virtual reality systems to simultaneously work on the design of wells.
Shell is currently the largest investor in research and development among the major oil firms. In 2011, we spent $1.1 billion on research and development (R&D), more than any other international oil and gas company. Over the last five years we have spent $2.3 billion on developing alternative energies, carbon capture and storage, and R&D on managing CO2 emissions. This helps us to develop the innovative technology we need to meet rising energy demand while limiting environmental and social impacts.
