(Former Royal Dutch Shell Executive, Paddy Briggs)
There is a very strong logic indeed to a merger between BP and Shell, providing this merger is accompanied by a split between the (merged) upstream and the (merged) downstream businesses. A Shell/BP upstream company would be a phenomenal corporation – not just clear sector leader but also big enough pretty much to be fireproof to the risk of a hostile takeover by Russian or Middle East interests.
The new downstream corporation (entirely separate from the upstream) would focus on the customer (Hooray!) and the brand(s) (Double Hooray!!) and would become a proper marketing focused business rather than being the fag end of the upstream. Upstream folk haven’t a clue how to run marketing businesses as both Shell and (to a lesser extent) BP have shown for years!
An upstream/downstream split post merger would also help any monopoly/anti-trust worries. Some downstream consolidations or disposals would be necessary in some markets.
As a once employee of Shell-Mex and BP I would love to see Shell and BP merge – so long as there is then a rapid upstream/downstream demerger. Could it really happen? We shall see!
Paddy Briggs
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.Paddy worked for Shell for 37 years during the last fifteen of which he was responsible for Brand management in a number of appointments. He was the winner of the “Shell/Economist” writing prize (internal) in 2001. Paddy retired from Shell in 2002 to form the brand consultancy BrandAware ™ and to write and speak on brand and reputation matters.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
Thank you for a thoughtful post.
I worked at Shell in E&P in technical and leadership positions both in the USA and Europe for nearly 30 years. These days I am an invited speaker & consultant (& university professor in the geosciences) in the area of the impeding “great crew change.” Simply stated: There is a buildup of staff at around age 50 in certain exploration and production disciplines. These staff are your mentors, decision makers (or enablers to decision makers) & problem solvers. These are the staff you want to entice to stay longer at Shell, rather than jump ship or retire. A merger of the sort hypothesized here, between upstream RD and upstream BP, may cause great angst to this critical pool of staff. It will need to be handled very delicately, in my opinion. And preservation of employee and retiree benefits will be important as well.