The companies have submitted a production sharing contract to the Chinese central government for approval. Under the 30-year contract, Shell and CNPC would appraise and potentially develop tight gas (basin-centred gas) reservoirs in an area of approximately 4,000-square-kilometre in the Jinqiu block of central Sichuan Province.

Tight gas is natural gas contained in rock that must be fractured or broken open before it can flow easily to production wells.

“This is another step forward for Shell’s world-wide tight gas strategy, building on our technology and production track record in China and elsewhere,” said Malcolm Brinded, Executive Director of Upstream International. “The agreement will strengthen our partnership with CNPC in developing cleaner energy to meet China’s growing needs.”

Enquiries:

Media Contacts:

International
Shell Media Relations +31 70 377 3600

China
Li Lusha +86-10-65054501 ext. 2685 lusha.li@shell.com

Shell Investor Relations:

International
Tjerk Huysinga +31 70 377 3996 / +44 207 934 3856
USA
Harold Hatchett +1 713 241 1019

Notes for editors:

Shell has onshore tight gas production in China, the United States and Canada, and appraisal activities in other regions. Tight gas reservoirs are also referred to as basin-centred gas reservoirs in parts of the world.

Shell and PetroChina, a subsidiary of CNPC, already operate Changbei, another tight gas field in the Ordos Basin near Yulin in Shaanxi Province of China. Commercial production in Changbei began in March 2007, supplying 3bcm natural gas a year to Beijing and other cities in eastern China.

Shell also signed a joint assessment agreement with PetroChina in November 2009 for shale gas cooperation in Sichuan. Assessment work commenced in January 2010 in the Fushun block that covers another area of approximately 4,000km2.

Royal Dutch Shell plc

Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges. Shell companies have operations in more than 100 countries and territories with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects. For further information, visit .

PetroChina

PetroChina is the largest oil and natural gas producer and supplier in China. It is an integrated oil company with businesses ranging from upstream to downstream, domestic trade to international trade and production to sales. PetroChina is engaged in a broad range of business activities including the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, refining and marketing of crude oil and petroleum products, production and marketing of petrochemical products, the transportation and storage of crude oil and refined products as well as the transmission and marketing of natural gas. PetroChina is one of the world’s foremost players in terms of its oil and gas output and reserves.

Cautionary Statement

The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this document “Shell”, “Shell group” and “Royal Dutch Shell” are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words “we”, “us” and “our” are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them.

These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies. ‘‘Subsidiaries’’, “Shell subsidiaries” and “Shell companies” as used in this document refer to companies in which Royal Dutch Shell either directly or indirectly has control, by having either a majority of the voting rights or the right to exercise a controlling influence. The companies in which Shell has significant influence but not control are referred to as “associated companies” or “associates” and companies in which Shell has joint control are referred to as “jointly controlled entities”. In this document, associates and jointly controlled entities are also referred to as “equity-accounted investments”. The term “Shell interest” is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect (for example, through our 34% shareholding in Woodside Petroleum Ltd.) ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

This document 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 document, 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 share 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, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions. All forward-looking statements contained in this document 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. Additional factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell’s Annual Report and Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2008 (available at and ). These factors also should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, 23 March, 2010. 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 document that 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, available on the SEC website . You can also obtain these forms from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.