Shell to Launch Enhanced Gift Card Program

HOUSTON, April 20 -- Shell Oil Products US, marketer of the No. 1 selling gasoline brand in the United States, today announced the launch of an enhanced gift card program. The program has been redesigned to give Shell retailers and wholesalers more value through incremental business and consumer trial of the Shell brand. The gasoline card has a new design, and the program will be promoted with new point-of-purchase materials.

The Shell Gift Card is an effective way of introducing consumers to the brand and giving motorists the opportunity to experience Shell services and products. According to David Bunch, the company's manager of credit cards, gift cards are one of the fastest growing categories and most valuable marketing tools available.

"The retail gift card business in the United States is a $50 billion industry. In fact, more than 70 percent of U.S. consumers purchased a gift card during 2003, and 56 percent of that group spent more than the monetary value of the card," said Bunch. "With the largest number of retail stores in the U.S., our retail footprint and brand strength give Shell a distinct competitive advantage in gift card marketing."

Last year, the Shell Gift Card program generated more than $70 million in sales. Approximately 85 percent of those sales were categorized as incremental volume. With the new program, Shell expects gift card sales to increase by 12 to 15 percent in 2004.

Other changes to the program also include two new vendors: SVM, the incentive industry's leader in the sale of prepaid gasoline and retail gift cards, and Paymentech, L.P., a national electronic payment processor known for state-of-the-art systems and premier point-of-sale transaction processing. SVM will be the Shell Gift Card provider and will handle production, distribution and marketing of the card. Paymentech will process the Shell Gift Cards at Shell locations across the United States and at other participating retail stores.

SVM will promote the Shell Gift Card heavily through business-to-business marketing. Additionally, SVM will customize cards to fit the growing promotional and rewards needs that many U.S. companies have today. The gift card also will be featured in advertisements in numerous magazines that represent a variety of industries, including automotive, sales and marketing, human resources and general business.

"Utilizing incentive-driven marketing programs with large businesses is an effective way to promote the Shell Gift Card and opens an entirely new, and largely incremental, marketing channel for Shell and our channel partners," continued Bunch. "With two industry leading companies like Paymentech and SVM, we are confident the execution of our new program will be flawless and that we'll find additional ways to further enhance the Shell Gift Card in the future."

Shell retailers and wholesalers are responding positively to the new program with strong initial enrollment. In fact, in the first quarter of 2004, the number of participating stations doubled from the previous year. Each retailer that signs up will receive newly designed point-of-purchase materials and an inventory of Shell Gift Cards. Currently, there is no transaction fee on the Shell Gift Cards, saving retailers and wholesalers the credit card transaction fees that are applied when motorists purchase gasoline with a major credit card.

Shell Gift Cards will be sold through SVM, Shell Source and www.shellus.com as well as at participating Shell stations and participating Walgreen's, Safeway and Safeway-affiliated stores.

Company Information:

Shell Oil Products US, a subsidiary of Shell Oil Company, is a leader in the refining, transportation and marketing of fuels, and has a network of nearly 7,500 branded gasoline stations in the Western United States. Shell Oil Company is a 50 percent owner of Motiva Enterprises LLC, along with Saudi Refining, Inc., which refines and markets branded products through 11,000 stations in the Eastern and Southern United States. Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies . For more information, please visit www.shell.com .

SVM, an industry data source company based out of Chicago, is the leader in the sale of prepaid gasoline cards and retail gift cards in the incentive industry. The company has been distributing, marketing and customizing cards to fit business promotion and employee reward needs since 1997. SVM staff has more than 30 years combined experience with fuel, oil, and stored value products. The company also provides upper quarterly performance to the oil and gas industry and offers nationwide coverage to its clients.

Paymentech, L.P. processes more payment transactions than any other company in North America -- and more than half of all Internet transactions -- for retailers accepting U.S. and international payments via traditional point of sale, Internet, catalog and recurring payments. The privately held company, founded in 1985, is an end-to-end processor for merchants of all sizes and industries. Paymentech's 1,500 employees work in multiple locations, including the Dallas headquarters; New York; Salem, N.H.; Tampa, Fla.; and Tempe, Ariz. In 2003, Paymentech and its Canadian affiliate, based in Toronto, processed 7 billion transactions and $162 billion in card volume in 14 currencies. For more information, please visit www.paymentech.com .