Royal Dutch/Shell PLC announced the appointment in July of Charles Watson as Country Chairman for Shell in Dubai and the Northern Emirates. He replaces Ron van den Berg. Charles will also serve in a co-ordination role as 'Cluster Chair' for Iraq, Jordan and Yemen.

H. H. General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan attended a ceremony in June, held at his palace, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Mubadala Development Company, a wholly-owned investment and development vehicle of the Government of Abu Dhabi, and Shell Exploration & Production International Ltd, to form a strategic alliance.