ANACORTES, WA -- The Shell Puget Sound Refinery is announcing its opposition to the ballot measure that would allow the Skagit County Public Utility District (PUD) to expand its jurisdiction to include electricity in addition to water and sanitation it already governs.  The refinery is very concerned with the uncertainty in utility bidding and operational costs associated with this proposal.  There is also concern about the PUD's willingness to use eminent domain to assert the control it wants, which seems to be an extreme measure.  In addition, the proposal has fewer safeguards against rate increases than the current system.

"The Skagit County Public Utility District is very good at what it does, but now is not the time to expand its jurisdiction into a new area it has not traditionally governed," said Sue Krienen, general manager of Shell Puget Sound Refinery.  "In this climate of unstable energy costs, this seems like a risky experiment."

The Skagit PUD's proposal rests on access to a new power source from Bonneville Power Authority (BPA) that the current provider does not have.  However, the limit for new customers in this area is far below the power needs of the new proposed service area.  For example, the Shell Puget Sound Refinery itself requires 80% of the power limit that could be drawn from this new source.  "This simply opens too much of the market to an uncertain bidding process," said Krienen.  "There needs to be much more careful study of this concept before moving forward.  Shell's experience in this area does not support the promises of this proposal.  We encourage the consumer and business community to oppose it."

Shell encourages concerned citizens to attend the October 15 forum on the subject being put on by the Economic Development Association of Skagit County at McIntyre Hall at 7:00pm.

Shell Oil Company, including its consolidated companies and its share in equity companies, is one of America's leading oil and natural gas producers, natural gas marketers, gasoline marketers and petrochemical manufacturers. Shell, a leading oil and gas producer in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, is a recognized pioneer in oil and gas exploration and production technology.  Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Shell Group, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies, employing approximately 112,000 people and operating in more than 130 countries and territories.

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INQUIRIES:
Jody Barnett             Shell Puget Sound Refinery        (360) 293-0845

Disclaimer statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ‘‘anticipate'', ‘‘believe'', ‘‘could'', ‘‘estimate'', ‘‘expect'', ‘‘intend'', ‘‘may'', ‘‘plan'', ‘‘objectives'', ‘‘outlook'', ‘‘probably'', ‘‘project'', ‘‘will'', ‘‘seek'', ‘‘target'', ‘‘risks'', ‘‘goals'', ‘‘should'' and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this Report, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for the Group's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserve estimates; (f) loss of market and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including potential litigation and regulatory effects arising from recategorisation of reserves; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, project delay or advancement, approvals and cost estimates; and (m) changes in trading conditions. All forward-looking statements contained in this presentation are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this presentation, May 4, 2006. Neither Royal Dutch Shell nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this document.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permits oil and gas companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only proved reserves that a company has demonstrated by actual production or conclusive formation tests to be economically and legally producible under existing economic and operating conditions.  We use certain terms in this presentation, such as "oil in place" that the SEC's guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in filings with the SEC.  U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575 and disclosure in our Forms 6-K file No, 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov. You can also obtain these forms from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.

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