Until this new report, Shell ranked among a select group of international oil companies that reportedly ceased delivering refined petroleum to Iran, in what appeared to be a nod to the international effort to isolate the regime.
While Shell was once seen as a model of good management, some investors have in recent years criticised its complicated two-company structure: Royal Dutch Petroleum, based in the Netherlands, owns 60% of the group and London-based Shell Transport and Trading the remaining 40%, with operational management reporting to both boards.