Usage of space in shell - Essay Example

ssay aims at examining how the Shell Oil Company has utilized its operational space, particularly office space, to increase operations and profits as a result, in the United States. The Shell Oil Company is a subsidiary business of the Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company, located in the United States. In 2011, the Shell Oil Company leased a total of about 1.3 million feet squared of office space at the One Shell Plaza and the Two Shell Plaza in Houston (Hines, 2011). In the One Shell Plaza; Shell Oil Company occupies the largest percentage of office space.

For instance, on the first floor, the Shell oil company has a small museum which illustrates the company’s history. The whole of Shell’s head office is located at the One Shell Plaza, while most of the other floors serve as corporate offices for the company. The Two Shell Plaza, on the other hand, plays the purpose of a parking lot as well as other Shell Oil Company offices. From 2011, the lease is set to expire after 15 years, thus making the Shell Oil Company a tenant at the Hines-owned property for over 55 years.

According to Hines (2011), Shell renewed the lease in accordance with the latter company’s plan of consolidating more office space at Houston downtown. According to Cook (2012), the lease was the largest office space contract in the world that year. The acquisition of this office space is a significant leap from the 650, 000 square feet that the Royal Dutch Shell started with in 1970 (Cook, 2012). Over time, Shell has made progressive steps towards ensuring that there is enough working space for the thousands of people working in the company.

In the 1990s, for example, Shell made major renovations to the Shell Plaza buildings aimed at easing operations and maximizing the output of the workforce (Cook, 2012). For instance, modern elevators were installed, electrical and mechanical upgrades were done, and architectural lobbies were upgraded, in addition to other changes. In 2011, after Shell signed