All Shell Gasolines Meet 'Top Tier' Gasoline Standard Introduced By BMW, General Motors, Honda and Toyota

HOUSTON, Dec. 15, 2004 -- While the majority of gasolines on the market today contain only the minimum amount of cleaning agents required by government standards, some companies say that isn't enough. According to Shell, gasoline meeting only minimum requirements can leave harmful deposits on engine parts. Additionally, four leading automakers, BMW, General Motors, Honda and Toyota, are so concerned with declining gasoline quality, that they recently introduced a higher standard called "Top Tier Detergent Gasoline." Shell announced today that its Regular, Plus and Shell V-Power(R) premium- grade gasolines all meet the "Top Tier Detergent Gasoline" standard.

"We've felt for a long time that the minimum detergency level set by EPA was not adequate for many fuels on the market," said Andrew Buczynsky, fuels engineer at General Motors.

Because gasoline can vary in quality from one brand to another, the four automakers created the "Top Tier Detergent Gasoline" standard to help keep vehicle engines cleaner and reduce deposit-related problems. The new standard surpasses the minimum requirements for gasoline detergent additives set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and in order for a gasoline brand to promote "Top Tier" status, all gasolines sold must meet the "Top Tier" standard.

Shell agrees cleaning agents are important and the company's research shows that fuels with more cleaning agents can remove deposits left behind by low detergency gasolines. And, according to the automakers that developed the "Top Tier" standard, clean engines help vehicles achieve optimal performance as well as reduced emissions.

Shell regular and Plus gasolines, which meet the "Top Tier" standard, also contain more than two times the amount of cleaning agents required by the EPA. Shell V-Power goes even further -- it has more than five times the minimum amount of cleaning agents required by government standards and twice the cleaning agents required by the "Top Tier" standard. While the "Top Tier" standard is designed to protect engines from the future build-up of carbon deposits, Shell V-Power is specifically formulated to actively clean your engine as you drive giving it the ability to clean-up deposits that have already built up on intake valves and fuel injectors.

"Shell has a long history of offering consumers high-detergency gasolines and has invested years of research and development into creating high-quality fuels," said Brooks Herring, brand and strategy manager for Shell Oil Products US. "Gasoline quality can vary from one brand to another and choosing the right gasoline for your car is very important. Shell has been delivering quality fuels to motorists for nearly 100 years and we hope the new 'Top Tier' standard will help consumers better understand the importance of buying high- quality fuels with additional cleaning power."

For more information on Shell V-Power gasoline please log on to http://www.shellvpower.com/ . For more information on the "Top Tier Detergent Gasoline" initiative, please visit HERE