Shell Names Former Maersk Oil CEO Watkins as Next U.S. Boss

Royal Dutch Shell's U.S. boss, Bruce Culpepper, will step down at the end of the year and will be replaced by former Maersk Oil chief executive Gretchen Watkins, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Shell's head of unconventionals, Greg Guidry, who oversees the Anglo-Dutch company's shale production in North America and Argentina, will step down on June 31, when he will be replaced by Gretchen.

Shell, which has large offshore production and a number of refineries in the United States, has earmarked its shale business as a key growth engine for the next decade.

Reporting by Ron Bousso