After what described as a century of "quirky cohabitation", Royal Dutch Petroleum and Shell Transport and Trading is likely to get their formal marriage as its planned restructuring was approved by shareholders on Tuesday.

The union will put the relationship on a new footing and fundamentally alter the way the company is governed, according to Financial Times.

Shell's eccentric corporate governance structure will be scrapped in favor of a modern, "Anglo-Saxon style" system designed to bring it into line with Exxon and BP.

Executives say that the shift represents a dramatic transformation of Shell's conservative and consensus-driven culture.

The merger was forced result by shareholders following a scandal last year in which the group was forced to slash what it had recorded as proved reserves of oil and gas no fewer than five times.

Shell had periodically considered to change its structure, most recently during the 1990s.

Source: Xinhua