Royal Dutch Shell plc’s Ben van Beurden, 55, who was appointed downstream director and a member of the executive committee just seven months ago, was named Tuesday to succeed Peter Voser as CEO on Jan. 1.

Voser, also 55, plans to retire at the end of March, marking the end of 29 years with the company (see Daily GPI, May 3).

“Ben has deep knowledge of the industry and proven executive experience across a range of Shell businesses,” said Chairman Jorma Ollila. He “will continue to drive and further develop the strategic agenda that we have set out, to generate competitive returns for our shareholders.”

Van Beurden’s selection, which came as a surprise to some, followed “a comprehensive assessment and review of internal and external candidates led by the board nomination and succession committee,” Ollila said.

When Voser announced his retirement, many had thought the frontrunners to succeed him would come from the upstream business, where Shell of late has been more focused. However, van Beurden has extensive experience on both sides of the business.

As downstream chief, van Beurden has been responsible for more than just a refining and marketing business. The unit also oversees Shell’s trading companies, which encompass every major energy market around the world, including natural gas.

In addition, the downstream unit is in charge of the petrochemicals manufacturing and marketing business, which has been eyeing expansions in the United States because of increased natural gas activity. The unit also manages one of the world’s largest fleets of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and oil tankers.

As downstream chief, Van Beurden also has overseen the gas-to-liquids (GTL) business, which, among other things, operates Pearl GTL in Qatar, the world’s largest plant. Shell is exploring a potential GTL plant on the U.S. Gulf Coast, and it is considering constructing an ethane cracker for the Appalachian Basin (see Daily GPI, Feb. 3; Nov. 15, 2012).

Van Beurden joined Shell in 1983 and has worked in Houston, the Netherlands, Africa, Malaysia and most recently, the UK. In January 2005, he moved to Houston as vice president of manufacturing excellence. “In this role he was responsible for standards in operational excellence and high-performance initiatives in refining and chemicals manufacturing,” Shell said.

Two years later he transferred to London as executive vice president of chemicals. Van Beurden is credited with helping to turn the petrochemicals operations to profitability after several quarters of big losses. The Dutch national earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

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