Global 500 rank: 3 (Previous rank: 3)
2006 Revenues (millions): $318,845
Headquarters: The Hague
Country: Netherlands
Get quote: RDSA
Europe's biggest company is also a fossil-fuel giant. Shell's particular strength is in natural gas; its soaring prices helped overall revenues grow 3.9% last year. Although it's the second most-profitable company in the world, with earnings of $25.4 billion, its profits grew only 0.5% last year because of slowdowns at its Nigerian operations and an increase in unplanned downtime at the company's U.S. refineries.
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3. Royal Dutch Shell
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