Royal Dutch Shell Group .com

AUGUST 2004 SHELL NEWS

Sunday 1 August, 2004

The Sunday Times: Special Report: In the dock: City watchdog accused of incompetence; “When it adopted an American-style settlement formula last week and allowed Shell to pay its fine without admitting guilt, the regulator set a precedent.”

The Sunday Times: Business Digest: “THE sale of Shell’s Ketch and Schooner gas fields is finally expected to get under way this month”

The Detroit News: New refineries aren't built in U.S. anymore

The Manila Times: Oil firms to increase prices by P0.50/liter on August 2: “Shell’s general manager… said that the upward movement in local oil prices is due to the continued political, peace and order, and security tensions in the Middle East, which include the sabotage to Iraq's oil infrastructure."

Inq7.net: Oil prices seen going up further: “Soaring prices in the international market could be attributed to the continued threat of terrorist attacks on oil installations in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, and the high demand for fuel in the United States brought by the summer driving season."

Monday 2 August, 2004

ShellNews.net: Is there a possible connection between Halliburton, Vice-President Dick Cheney, and Sir Philip Watts in relation to the Shell reserves scandal?

Financial Times: R.Dutch/Shell lays course for governance review

Financial Times: Victims punished at Shell: “The FSA justifies the fine by saying it has to send a signal to the market about unacceptable behaviour.”

Financial Times: The questions over aiding and abetting

TimesOnLine: American Account: Irwin Stelzer: Soaring oil price lubricates the advance of Kerry

The Manila Times: Malacañang sees silver lining in oil price hike: “increase in the prices of oil in the world market was mainly due to the increasing demand for fuel in the expanding economies of China, Japan, United States and Europe."

CityDebate.com: Shell Launches New Shell V-Power®, Its Most Advanced Fuel Ever (what, non-tainted?)

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER: Happy pump$

Tuesday 3 August, 2004

Financial Times: Lament of the Shell shareholder The penalty is the equivalent to the imposition of a fine on a victim of a robbery rather than on the perpetrator!

Reuters: Shell to unify boards

Financial Times: Woodside outstrips profit expectations

Financial Times: Parmalat takes the offensive 

Daily Telegraph: Moody's fears pace of Shell shake-up: “In a letter that confirmed Shell's Aa1 rating with negative outlook”: "Shell's competitive positioning in global exploration and production, while formidable, has suffered relative to its high-rated industry peers.."

Hindu Business Line: Shell set to get permit for petrol, diesel retailing: "Shell India Pvt Ltd to set up 2,000 retail outlets in the country for marketing petrol and diesel."

The Wall Street Journal: California Officials Tour LNG Sites In Asia, Australia-Report: “Four of the firms have contributed a total of $250,000 in political funds to Schwarzenegger, the Times reported.” (including “Royal Dutch Shell”)

Bloomberg: Oil Shipments From Middle East Surge 22% in July; Shell Leads: “the biggest surge in global demand in 24 years.”

ThisDayOnline:Toxic Waste: Group Demands N200m Compensation from Shell: “The once beautiful land is no longer a source of fresh air and green vegetation. All one sees and feels now is death."

Wednesday 4 August, 2004

The Guardian: Shell in move to unite British and Dutch boards: “Shell is poised to unify its British and Dutch boards in response to shareholder pressure”

Daily Telegraph: Shell pulls out of $18bn China pipeline project: “Shell, the embattled Anglo-Dutch oil and gas giant, suffered yet another blow yesterday”

The Times: Need to Know: Global Business Briefing: “Royal Dutch/Shell, the oil giant, is to unify the boards of its Dutch and British holding companies…”

The Wall Street Journal: Oil Companies Quit China Pipeline Project: “Shell… the lead negotiator with PetroChina”

ThisIsLondon.co.uk: Shell looking to join halves

The Wall Street Journal: Nigeria Eyes Pipeline To Replace FPSOs –Regulator: “"West Africa has a rich history of under reportage of lifted volumes by oil companies”

Financial Times: PetroChina cancels talks for joint venture: “decision brought to an end the involvement of Royal Dutch/Shell and Exxon/Mobil”

The Wall Street Journal: Argentina To Hike Oil Export Duties If Intl Price Rises

Financial Times: Future Contestants

Financial Times: Dunn and dusted among the Dutch: “helped Anglo-Dutch business relations during the recent turbulent times at Royal Dutch/Shell.”

Thursday 5 August, 2004

The New York Times: Oil Prices Rise Again After Brief Pause: “there is uncertainty over the amount of reserves held by oil companies and Middle Eastern countries.”: “cited Royal Dutch Shell's acknowledgment in January that it had less reserves than it initially reported.": "also concern about oil production in Nigeria"

China Daily: PetroChina goes solo on gas line: ‘Two years of negotiations came to an end on Monday when PetroChina sent "letters of termination" to Royal Dutch/Shell’

Financial Times: Pipeline pullout embarrasses Petrochina

The Guardian: Filthy lucre: Oil, oil - everywhere! “And what about Rajasthan? Shell had more or less abandoned prospecting there, but oil minnow Cairn Energy made several major finds this year and reckons Rajasthan could be the new Texas"

AllAfrica.com: Commissioner Bemoans Shell, Chevron Activities: "the degree and extent of pollution occasioned by exploration and exploitation of oil and gas on our environment is quite enormous".

AllAfrica.com:  LC Will Make Upstream Operating Cost Cheaper, Effective -- Shell

Daily Herald: County wants changes from Shell: “illegal dumping of 201 tons of benzene-tainted soil”: "We have found problems with the procedures Shell followed," said county board Chairman Mike McCoy. "It was more than just a simple, honest mistake."

The Independent: Shell set to unify boards to quell investor anger: "Some analysts say the structure has prevented Shell from making bold strategic decisions"

Friday 6 August, 2004

FT.com: BASF/Shell to sell chemicals unit for $7bn 

The Guardian: Reed says enforced access plan is daft: 'Sir Crispin was asked yesterday whether the recent problems at Shell - which, like Reed, has a dual listing in the Netherlands and the UK - had caused it to reconsider its corporate structure. "Please don't put us in the same category as Shell", he replied'

brunei-online.com: Brunei Shell contributes $500,000 for royal wedding ceremonies: “no amount of contributions can justly reflect the importance of preserving the country's traditional monarchy rule”: *Contribution or bribe to buy favour?

Daily Telegraph: Oil price flares as Yukos woes worsen

Daily Telegraph: Dr Rieley is wide of the mark on Shell's 'malaise', writes a reader: the delusion of senior managers that because they had got to the top of Shell, and Shell was huge, they must be brilliant”

Daily Telegraph: Brokers' updates: Shell

The Times: Need to know: “PetroChina, China’s dominant oil producer, confirmed that it had terminated an $8 billion joint venture with oil groups, including Royal Dutch/Shell,”

AllAfrica.com: Omiyi: Homeboy At Shell: “The Anglo-Dutch oil firm is reportedly undergoing a far-reaching global reorganisation to strengthen the values of honesty, integrity and respect for people.”

Saturday 7 August, 2004

Los Angeles Times: U.S. Adding to Its Oil Reserve: Bush administration Friday awarded contracts to ChevronTexaco Corp. and Royal Dutch/Shell Group's Shell Oil to replenish the U.S. emergency petroleum reserve”

straitstimes.asia1.com: Petrol price war again: “The price war in Singapore comes at a time when international oil prices are at record levels.”

The Guardian: Corporate battle lines: "stories of corporate fraud, unbridled greed and negligent auditing, have given much support to the Galbraithian thesis": “How different are the skills required to succeed in, say, Shell, from those needed in the Treasury? (Apart of course from the need in the former case to cultivate a blind eye.)"

Financial Times: Shell drills deeper: “Royal Dutch/Shell has brought in external consultants in document security to aid its investigation into a leak of a commercially confidential report”

Financial Times: BASF and Shell set to sell chemicals venture for €6bn

Financial Times: Oil companies unravel chemical elements

Daily Telegraph: City Briefs: Shell view

The Wall Street Journal: Nigeria: Can Maintain Oil Output If Unrest But At A Cost

The Wall Street Journal: Oil Cos In Singapore Cut Gasoline Prices To Mark Holiday

The New York Times: U.S. Adding More Oil to Emergency Reserve: “Royal Dutch/Shell Group's Shell Oil to deliver more than 100,000 barrels of crude a day to the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve.”

Sunday 8 August, 2004

The Observer: The bashful over-achiever: “two boards, two chairmen and two chief executives - gave it a schizophrenic corporate culture.”: “Could the oil giant Shell, which still has a similar structure, learn any lessons from this?”

Sunday Express: Shell tipped to join Baltic gas pipeline: “Shell is thought to be the most likely partner.”

sify.com: Ispat to source LNG from GAIL, Shell

Monday 9 August, 2004

The New York Times: Nigerian Oil Industry Reels Amid Fighting: “Royal Dutch/Shell, Nigeria's largest oil operation which produces half of the 2.5 million barrels Nigeria's exports daily, also is reeling.”

Business-Standard.com: 26% selloff clause waiver for Shell: Global oil major gets nod for 2,000 retail outlets.

Financial Times: Know the limits of corporate venturing

The Independent: Aidan Heavey: Out of Africa - Ireland's oil baron has come a long way from County Kildare: “it is clear that the scandal has highlighted accounting risk in the oil industry, and discrepancies between different companies' accounting methods"

The Wall Street Journal: Shell Petroleum Company Buys Back 1.4M Shares

Tuesday 10 August, 2004

BBC NEWS: Peru prepares for the gas age: “Shell first had the contract to develop the fields, but left the project after a row with Peru's former president, Alberto Fujimori.”

iol.co.za: Peru tribes fear gas may bring extinction: “Environmentalists say Shell's contact in the 1980s wiped out half of the Yora tribe, pushing it toward extinction.”

autoindustry.co.uk: CEO of Shell Hydrogen, reveals Shell Hydrogen's new concept of "Mini-networks"

Philadelphia Inquirer: Gas stations change brands and strategy: “Peebles said it is unclear what is going to happen to the rest. Those that Shell owns could be sold or closed.

The Wall Street Journal: Praxair And CSPC Sign Industrial Gases Supply Pact For Petrochemical Complex In Guangdong, China: "Praxair Inc. (PX) agreed to supply the oxygen and nitrogen requirements of a $4.3 billion petrochemical complex that CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals Co. is building in China"

Financial Times: ExxonMobil's role within Russia

The Guardian: BP's buyback boost begins to fizzle

Daily Telegraph: Only oil shines as blue chips succumb to American fears: “Shell topped the list of FTSE 100 risers, up 5.25 to 394p, as traders speculated that higher oil revenues could boost the embattled company's fortunes”

The Times: Natural resources

The Wall Street Journal: Shell Buys Back 3.15M Shares 

Bloomberg: Shell Makes Oil Find in Russia, Sees Reserves Boost (Update2): “Shell, Europe's second-largest oil company, is counting on projects in Russia to help boost falling output and reserves”

Wednesday 11 August, 2004

The Guardian: Q&A: Oil: “The recent decision by Shell, the Anglo-Dutch giant, to sharply pare back its reserves, added to market jitters.”

The Guardian: Shell advert seeks 'our man in Iraq': Platform said Mr Stroebl's "secretive" appointment contradicted statements to shareholders at the June annual meeting that Shell had no activity or plans in Iraq.

The Independent: Bill Gammell: A £2.2bn Indian summer for rugby international who struck black gold: “And Cairn's success will be all the more satisfying because it came at the expense of the oil giant Shell"

The Independent: The Investment Column: How to cash in from rising oil price

The Independent: UK oil imports exceed exports as crude tops $45 a barrel

Daily Telegraph: City Comment: Cairn sucks Shell dry

The Times: Need to know: “Cairn Energy… has made its fourth oil discovery in seven months at the western Indian exploration block that it bought from Shell two years ago for just £3.9 million.”

The Times: Tempus: Cairn Energy: “and yesterday it announced its fourth, from a Rajasthani field it nabbed off Shell for just £4 million two years ago.”

The Times:  Big shot: “Another oil discovery in India, another 6 per cent jump in Cairn’s share price.

The Times:  BARREL VAULT: “Shell shut down some production in the Gulf of Mexico because of a tropical storm”

Forbes: Shell to Shutdown, Repair Pipelines

The New York Times: Paper: Gas Traders, Supervisors Face Probe: “commission collected a total of about $250 million in penalties… $30 million from Coral Energy Resources, a Houston-based trading subsidiary of Shell.”

MosNews.com: Shell Makes Oil Find in Russia: “The discovery should allow the company to boost its falling reserves and output.”

Thursday 12 August, 2004

Reuters: Ex-Shell director gets 2.5 million pounds: “Walter van de Vijver”

Miami Herald: Shell, Texaco clients seek refunds: “faulty fuel sold by Shell”: “said it has received about 70,000 claims: “figure will easily run into the tens of millions of dollars.”

Financial Times: Shell to unify boards and look at merger: “to restore the company's credibility”

Financial Times: Puzzling out the options as Shell faces reform: “Transparency is a matter of culture. It's not a matter of organisation ...”

Pulse TC.com: Firing Shell’s Chairman? “Sir Philip the Finagler after it was discovered in an internal investigation that, on his watch, Shell had been cooking its books Enron-style”

Financial Times: Shell shocker

Financial Times: Scrub the shell: “Years of sub-standard exploration and production performance have left Shell adrift of its peers in reserve replacement and reserve life.”

The Wall Street Journal: Shell Targets 174,000 B/D From Dormant Nigerian Wells

Financial Times: Cultural matters: “And as Antony Burgmans, chairman of Unilever, points out: "The leader sets the tone”

Oil & Gas Journal: Shell Transport and Trading Company, p.l.c. - Buyback of Own Shares

China Economic Net: PetroChina says good-bye to Shell

Friday 13 August, 2004

The Guardian: Former Shell director gets £2.5m payout: “payable in instalments and subject to continuing cooperation with, and review by, the relevant authorities”

SKYNEWS: SHELL MAY MERGE GROUPS Shell may merge its Dutch and British holding companies to try to find a way out of its problems in the wake of its reserves crisis.

Washington Times: Shell, Royal Dutch talk merger

London Evening Standard: £2.5m for Shell boss who quit: “will astonish investors who have lost millions from the collapse in Shell's share price since the debacle broke”

The Independent: Michael Harrison's Outlook: Money talks for Shell's singing director: “Shell is hardly a byword for good corporate governance, and yesterday it lived up to its reputation by producing another stonker”

Financial Times: Shell to pay Walter van de Vijver €3.8m

Financial Times: Easier to unify than to unite: “The prolonged deception about the state of its oil reserves owed as much to corporate governance failures as to the wrongdoing of individuals.”: “the most important reform must be of its behaviour.”

Financial Times: Conflict is not the only way: “When managers begin managing the company for themselves rather than for shareholders, conflict breaks out.”

Daily Telegraph: Shell boss to get £2.5m pay-off: “The final payment is likely to exceed 4m”:  The pay-off is likely to be seen by critics as another example of "reward for failure".

Daily Telegraph: Shell's failure was huge but the rewards have been ample: “It would be hard to imagine a more extreme form of top management failure than that at Shell”

The Times: Shell director who was 'tired of lying' given £2.5m payoff: “Shell investors lost 50p for every barrel that went missing while Phil and Walter together earned 80p for every barrel mislaid”

The Times: Power of one: “While it is a shame that it took this year's reserves crisis to alert the group, and shareholders, to the threat of the 200lb gorilla in the room”

The Times: Different dealings weaken Shell group: “deemed responsible for the same horrendously damaging issue of cutting corners”

Reuters: Shell-Led Russia Venture Vows to Protect Rare Whales": “It is the most comprehensive and largest whale project funded solely by industry for whales anywhere in the world,"

Los Angeles Times: Shell May Postpone Closing of Refinery:  “The Federal Trade Commission is investigating Shell's closure plan.”

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Shell to Pay $4.6 Million In Severance, Pension To Ousted Executive: “The SEC still is investigating individuals involved in the overstatement.”

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Royal Dutch/Shell Begins to See Advantages of Unified Structure

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Shell Transport Buys Back 2.75M Shares At 393.95P

DAILY EXPRESS: BUMBLING SHELL BORDERS ON FARCE: “HAPPY memories of Peter Sellers' portrayal of the bumbling Inspector Clouseau”

Daily Express: Shell scandal boss wins £2.5m payoff": "I am becoming sick and tired about lying about the extent of our reserves issues and the downward revisions that need to be done because of far too aggressive/optimistic bookings."

Saturday 14 August, 2004

The Star-Ledger: Major shareholder lawsuit pending: “the Royal Dutch/Shell Group's legal woes aren't yet finished.”: “a mega-lawsuit making its way through the U.S. District Court in Newark.”

Daily Mail: Board reforms will suit Shell: “Call it a triumph of globalisation - or call it a total mess.”

Dallas News: El Paso Corp. employees investigated for price manipulation, sources say: “$250 million in penalties, including $20 million from Houston-based El Paso and $30 million from Coral Energy Resources, a Houston-based trading subsidiary of Shell.”

Petroleum News: Shell subsidiary hits oil in Siberia’s Salym field, ConocoPhillips, Talisman sign $4 billion gas deal

Energy Intelligence Group: SEC to Continue With Shell Interviews Despite Striking Deal: "(SEC) is to continue interviewing Royal Dutch/Shell witnesses next month in connection with the group's reserves downgrades, despite the deal in principle struck between the two sides"

The Independent: Michael Harrison's Outlook: An oil giant's road from Rajasthan to ruin: “Shell, by contrast, has endured the most humiliating, torrid and damaging period in its 100-year history. It is hard to think of a more spectacular fall from grace or a more abject example of management failure.”: “The deeper it dug itself into this hole, the more Shell was forced to lie”

The Times: Exploration to put Premier in big league: “Shell lag behind a red-hot sector”: “partly because Shell “sexed up” its oil reserves and was knocked off its pedestal”

The Times: Winner of the week: “Walter van de Vijver, who complained that he was “tired of lying” about Shell’s oil and gas reserves, is to receive a payoff of £2.5 million.”

The Times: Need to Know

The New York Times: Shell Delays Closure of California Refinery: “an antitrust investigation into Shell's decision to close the refinery will continue.”

San Diego Union Tribune: Oil company in talks with potential buyers: “the attorney general will continue an antitrust probe of Shell. The Federal Trade Commission also has been investigating the proposed shutdown.”

Billings Gazette: Shell plans CBM wells over border: “Montana officials worried that development in the province could harm the state's water quality”

Sunday 15 August, 2004

The Observer: Ailing Shell braced for French bid: Oil giant 'could merge with rival Total': “the possibility of a deal is now the subject of fevered speculation in the City.”

BBC News: Shell 'could be target for Total'

SKYNEWS: SHELL FACES TAKEOVER BID: “insiders claiming French oil company Total is planning a raid.”

Bloomberg: Total Says Royal Dutch/Shell Takeover Reports Are `Speculation': Royal Dutch/Shell executives are concerned that the company is vulnerable to a takeover bid”

The Scotsman: Shell 'Braced for Takeover Bid from Oil Rival Total': “an inquiry found it violated reporting, record-keeping and anti-trust rules.” 

Financial Times: Setting the scene: "Shell expects hostile takeover bids from BP and ExxonMobil within the next few months. These bids will be followed by a successful 'white knight' bid from Total” (article from 2 weeks ago)

Financial Times: Shell fighter begins the big clean-up: “it could itself become a bid target”; “if you get it hopelessly wrong, then people start sniffing around.": "In answer to a question about whether they are sniffing now, he said: "You will have to ask the sniffers" (Comment by Jeroem van der Veer two weeks ago)

SUNDAY EXPRESS: WHY SHELL MUST ACT NOW TO CALM TROUBLED WATERS: “But restructure may not be enough after scandal, resignation and fines, reports Robin Pagnamenta”

Sunday Express: All’s well with Cairn in the Indian desert: It was an act of stupidity... You don't sell off your golden eggs like that. Shell's loss is Cairn's gain.”: "Oil minnow’s £4m field is worth billions"

The Observer: Air Miles fail to go the distance

The Observer: Are multinationals to blame?

The Observer: Multinationals hand taxman £20bn final demand

The Business: Shell battles to save gas deal with Libya: “it needs to report progress to investors battered by this year's disastrous reserves downgrade.”: “I would imagine Shell is desperate to sign something."

Monday 16 August, 2004

Channel News Asia: Shell fears swoop by French oil giant Total: report: “Shell has been shaken by a scandal involving the overestimation of its reserves of oil and gas.”

Reuters: Total declines comment on Shell report

Daily Mail: Shell fears Total takeover attack: "group's tardy disclosure that oil reserves have been inflated."

SKYNEWS: TOTAL SILENT OVER BID  

London Evening Standard: “Reports at the weekend claimed that Total was keen to take advantage of the lack of confidence in Shell's management”

Investors.com: BA, ICI higher on oil price ease, Shell up on M&A hope

Reuters: Shell drags FTSE higher as bid talk swirls

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Shell Declines Comment On Total Takeover "Rumors”: “market speculation French competitor Total SA could be preparing to make a bid for the company”

Expatica: Shell, Total tight-lipped over merger rumour

Financial Times: Bourses edge ahead as oil prices recede: “talk of a bid from Total of France for the ailing oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell, could add another dimension to the oil sector”

Financial Times: Bid speculation pushes London higher: “Shell was up 2.2 per cent at 399¼p on reports that Total could launch a bid for the Anglo-Dutch oil company”

Daily Express: Shell faces takeover challenge from Total: “THE turmoil at Shell has triggered speculation that it could be vulnerable to a takeover or merger”

CNN: Eurostocks snap back as Shell rises: “oil stocks rose on talk of a takeover of Shell”

London Evening Standard: Market report: Monday close: CITY traders were doing their level best to play down talk of a £40bn-plus bid for oil giant Shell

London Evening Standard: Shell in the bid spotlight as oil price keeps climbing: “reports suggested top brass at scandal-struck Shell think a bid may be on its way from France's Total.”

Financial Times: Shell to delay closure of refinery closure: “plan had prompted probes into possible antitrust violations by the Attorney General's office and the US Federal Trade Commission”

 

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Sainsbury Buys Second Convenience Store Chain

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Shell to Delay Closing Refinery, Granting Californians Reprieve: “Shell's intent to close the plant had triggered an antitrust investigation by California officials as well as one by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.”

The Scotsman: Cairn's soar-away success ups pressure on Shell: “The Edinburgh-based group’s astonishing success raises further questions about the quality and calibre of Shell’s management and the company’s modus operandi.”

Daily Telegraph: Cairn oil bonanza nets chiefs £4m bonus: “Cairn's finds in India are a source of continued embarrassment to Shell, which sold its 50pc share in the concession to Cairn for just $7.25m.”

The Times: Cost of directors' cover falls: “several multimillion-dollar cases — such as Vivendi and Shell — prepare for court”

The Times: Cairn’s lucky strike in the oil lottery: “Still, it (SHELL) must have some regrets about giving away a winning lottery ticket.”

The Times: Shell weighs Intergen sale: "a sale would also fit with Shell’s aim of trying to restore investor confidence"

Rediff: Shell to retail fuel by year-end: "Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell will begin auto fuel retailing in India by the end of 2004"

Tuesday 17 August, 2004

The Scotsman: Total bid for Shell is oil to the City gossip mill: “Desmarest could make an audacious swoop for the Royal Dutch half alone - which itself is smaller than Total - and, therefore, would have voting control over the entire group.”

ChannelNewsAsia: Total takeover of Shell? Analysts aren't buying it:  "A hostile takeover leaves the door open to a hostile counter takeover, and at that point, Royal Dutch is better placed financially to bid for Total than Total for Royal Dutch."

Financial Times: European Comment: Not all that far-fetched: “Total's cautious boss Thierry Desmarest has shown he can pull off big takeovers, with Elf and Petrofina. He has plenty of cash and more to come”

The Independent: Shell takeover speculation dismissed

Daily Telegraph: Market report: “speculation that French rival Total SA may be mulling a bid for the Anglo-Dutch oil giant”

The Times: Need to Know: Global Business Briefing: “analysts dismissing weekend reports that Total, its French rival, could launch a takeover bid”

Daily Telegraph: Libya invites bids for drilling rights: “The news emerged amid reports that Shell's Libyan deal, which is still at the preliminary stage, was stalling.”

The Scotsman: Oil bonanza for man who took on Shell and won

Daily Telegraph: Cairn oil bonanza nets chiefs £4m bonus: "Cairn's finds in India are a source of continued embarrassment to Shell, which sold its 50pc share in the concession to Cairn for just $7.25m.”

The Malaysia Star: Shell Refining posts highest quarterly profit: “Chairman Jon Chadwick said: “We are pleased with this back-to-back achievement, surpassing even the record profit for the first quarter this year.”

The Times: City Diary: “Shell has had a near-death experience of its own of late and could probably do with some good PR.”

Wednesday 18 August, 2004

Daily Telegraph: A word in your Shell-like: “The guest speaker will make ‘particular reference to the importance of trust in business’. He's Clive Mather, president and chief exec of Shell Canada.”

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: ExxonAramco?

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: U.S. Oil Concerns Are Lining Up To Bid on Rights for Libyan Crude: “But National Oil Corp. has yet to firm up a deal with Royal Dutch/Shell Group after signing a preliminary agreement in March”

abs-cbnnews.com (Philippines): “Shell used fraudulently acquired tax-credit certificates to settle its liabilities with the government”

Business Report: 'Shell might just be too big for Total to swallow': “In Paris and London, oil analysts deemed a hostile takeover bid possible but…”

CommentWire.com: Shell: Total speculation

Blommberg: Venezuela Studies Purchase of Shell's Argentine Units: “Shell… earlier today sold its gasoline stations in Peru to Chile's state oil company for $41 million”

Sify:com: Shell, Essar in tussle over Hazaria: “breach of trust case by the Essar group, Shell's Indian partner in the consortium”

Financial Times: Shell sells fuel business in Peru

Financial Times: Seoul to seek bidders for record 20-year LNG contract

Financial Times: China to sell power plants to raise $2bn: investors including Royal Dutch Shell and Bechtel became mired in a dispute with local authorities”

Daily Telegraph: Whitehall is told to cut red tape for wind farms: “Sita Dickson, of Shell International, said… Shell was keen to see "better, joined-up Government".

Reuters: Shell to resume drilling in Brazil next year

Thursday 19 August, 2004

Daily Telegraph: After Shell, experts have Cairn over a barrel: “Watching the lawyers circling over Shell, the Cairn directors probably think that whatever DeGolyer charges, they've got a bargain.”

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Shell : No Comment On Rumored New Latin America Sales: “In Argentina, reports say that Shell 's 900 service stations and its refinery plants are the potential target of a joint bid”

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: China Aviation Oil To Buy 20.6% Of Singapore Petroleum: “also in talks with Shell to buy over the latter's 40% stake in an oil storage terminal in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin.”

Financial Times: Virtually no hiding place from long arm of computer detectives: “…fraud investigation is to turn on a "smoking gun" document…,”: "I am becoming sick and tired about lying about the extent of our reserves issues."

Financial Times: Woodside confident of Tiof field prospects

The Guardian: Citigroup's £7bn bond trade under investigation: “The largest penalty it has ever handed to a firm was £17m to oil company Shell last month.”

The Guardian: City awaits hard sell from Sorrell: “Shell gained 8.75p to 399.25p, excited by rumours of predatory interest from rival Total.”

Daily Telegraph: Consultants check Cairn oil reserves: “pressure from investors to ensure that the reserves estimate presented to the City is watertight in the wake of the Shell debacle.”

LACityBeat.com: REFINERY REPRIEVE: “Under pressure from political leaders and activists, Shell keeps the gas flowing in Bakersfield”: “Their brand has been severely damaged from day one.”

Planet Ark: Shell-led Russia venture to monitor rare whales: “but green activists dismissed the move as insufficient to protect the rare species.“

Friday 20 August, 2004

Financial Times: A case of looser lips at the City police station: “By delaying its announcement of the Royal Dutch/ Shell investigation, the FSA scored an own goal, making it look a long way behind the SEC.”

Financial Times: Instant messaging used in 'untraceable' City leaks: “follows a string of cases where e-mails have provided crucial evidence, such as when Royal Dutch/Shell disclosed e-mails showing the feud between two of its directors over its overstatement of reserves."

Guardian: Corporate battle lines: “The collapse of Enron, and the related and unrelated stories of corporate fraud, unbridled greed and negligent auditing”: “How different are the skills required to succeed in, say, Shell, from those needed in the treasury? (Apart, of course, from the need in the former case to cultivate a blind eye.)

Daily Telegraph: More sounds from Shell: Mr van der Veer believes "it is important to allow people to contribute to Shell in their own way, while the leadership helps them to focus their energies on what matters".

abs-cbnnews.com: Evidence hidden from Bureaus of Customs and of Internal Revenue in Shell case?

Business-Standard: “Shell has invested $ 850-900 mn in India. What more can we do?”: “Most of its earlier ventures in India were unsuccessful”

Daily Times (Pakistan): Shell posts 20% rise in net profit: “But he said the company is losing its market share”

Financial Times: Strategies for weathering the corporate storm: “Royal Dutch/Shell was one of the first companies to use quantitative scenario planning.”

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Thai PTT To Buy 64% Stake In Rayong Refinery

The Wall Street Journal: Shell Malaysia, Petronas Carigali Successful Drill

Bloomberg: U.K. Shares Fall, Led by WPP, as Oil Rises; Shell Advances: “Royal Dutch/Shell Group was raised to ``buy'' from ``neutral'' by Merrill Lynch because of possible future asset sales and planned investments.”

CBS.MarketWatch: Merrill sees Shell oil disposals at $15 bln

YahooNews: Shell, Petronas Drill Malaysia's Deepest Oil, Gas Well

Saturday 21 August, 2004

The Guardian: Brown's energy policy ignores home truths

Daily Telegraph: Market report: “Shell was also helped 5 higher to 401p on the back of positive broker comments.”

The Times: Drivers face £4 gallon as oil cost soars: “Shell admitted for the first time since crude oil began its latest surge that petrol prices were heading higher.”

The Times: Lifers who climb right to the top: “A less edifying example of the breed is Sir Philip Watts, chairman of Shell, who was forced to resign after the group admitted to misrepresenting oil and gas reserves.”

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: S&P Affirms Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline Ratings: “Shell Canada has indicated that reserves could be depleted by 2014, or five years prior to bond maturity, as opposed to original estimates of 2025.”

CNW.ca: Shell Conservation Interns

Sunday 22 August, 2004

ThisDayOnline.com (Nigeria): Violence: MOSOP Blames Shell, Police: “accusing Shell of paying for a disastrous set of interventions which breach the basic standards of police and corporate conduct.”

Sunday Express: Shell cuts back on forecourts to boost production: “managers hoped the new strategy would draw a line under the reserves-misreporting scandal which triggered the departure of three of Shell's bosses earlier this year.”

The Business: Shell powers ahead with plan to clear out $15bn of its assets: “Underspending in exploration and production throughout the 1990s is seen as partly to blame for the 4.35bn barrel reduction in reported reserves that made this year one of the worst in Shell's 97-year history."

The Business: BP and Shell signal first interest in Iraq oil fields: “Shell claim they have bid in such a way that they wouldn't have to place staff in Iraq until they were satisfied that it was safe to do so.”

The Observer: Lay off the corporate guilt trip: “Shell and Marks & Spencer have fallen from grace not because they neglected their profit-making function but because they put it before the maintenance of their values.”

London Evening Standard: Damage question: “Shell… everyone knows its reputation is still in tatters and it will take years for the company to rehabilitate itself.”

The Scotsman: Cairn to debate India sale "In Bangladesh, we’ve recently taken over the operatorship of assets from Shell.”

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Investors Gaze Abroad For Stock Gains

Monday 23 August, 2004

Financial Times: Plastics: “Take the case of Basell, the BASF and Shell joint venture now on the auction block”

Financial Times: Nigeria gas consortium 'evasive', says probe chief

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Buybacks Aid Europe's Stocks

Washington Times: Shell to sell stake in Thai refinery

BruneiDirect.Com: Caring For Planet Earth

taipeitimes.com: UK energy stocks rise, led by BP and Shell: “Shell… Merrill Lynch & Co advised investors to buy the stock, citing the possibility of future asset sales and planned investments.”

Tuesday 24 August, 2004

ChannelNewsAsia: Five oil companies back in court over Swedish price-fixing cartel: “competition authority… asked that the fines for Statoil, OK-Q8, Norsk Hydro, Preem and Shell be raised to a total of 369 million kronor (40.2 million euros, 49.3 million dollars)

Financial Times: Woolworths growth 'not dependent on bid': “admitted Coles' move into petrol retailing, where it has teamed up with Shell, had hit Woolworths but said the impact would be short-lived”

The Times: Need to Know: Royal Dutch/Shell… appeared in a Swedish court again over a 1999 price-fixing cartel”

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Australia's ACCC: Won't Take Action On Vopak/Shell Deal

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Big Oil Presses Ahead in Venezuela: Royal Dutch/Shell Group, meanwhile, says it is looking closely at doing its own project. "We see it as an important opportunity for the company," Shell Venezuela President Joaquin Moreo said recently."

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Shell Transport Buys Back 2 Mln Shares At 403.32P

YahooNews: Shell Technology Ventures, Inc. (STVI) Invests in Reservoir Imaging Technology Developed by Paulsson Geophysical Services, Inc. (P/GSI), Brea, California

The Independent - United Kingdom: Super fuel: Is it myth or magic?: “The only such fuel sold in the UK like this is Shell Optimax”

Business Times (Malaysia): Shell wins MSOSH awards

AFX Europe (Focus); Philippine oil firms raise pump prices for second time in a week

Bangkok Post – Thailand: Petrol stations forced to close at midnight

Bloomberg: Shell to Update Investors on Governance Next Month: “Van der Veer, 56, is trying to regain investors' confidence after the company said in January it had overstated oil reserves by a fifth. That led to an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the ouster of three top executives and the loss of Shell's top-tier credit rating."

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Licensees Mull Gas Devt At Norway Troll West Field -Govt

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Italy's Saipem Wins Two Contracts For EUR220 Mln

Wednesday 25 August, 2004

Financial Times: Shell ‘knew of reserves overstatement in 2000': TWO YEARS EARLIER THAN PREVIOUSLY REPORTED BY THE COMPANY'S OWN INVESTIGATION INTO THE REPORTING SCANDAL."

Financial Times: Lex: Royal Dutch/Shell: “Creating value through entrepreneurial management of hydrocarbon resource values” could be the title of just another jargon-filled memo. The fact that the paper was written at Royal Dutch/Shell in May 1998 and led to a relaxation of reserve guidlines lends it a more ironic slant.": "The findings further damage the oil group's battered reputation."

Lloyds List: Shell settles with regulators to end reserves scandal: “findings and conclusions in the FSA's 'final notice' and the SEC's 'cease and desist order'.”

The Independent: Shell still wrestling with its moment of shame: “Shell is bluntly accused of making false and misleading statements about its oil reserves over a five-year period, of doing so despite internal warnings that the statements were false"

The Independent: Regulators to pursue former Shell chiefs over market abuse: “The UK's market regulator set out in detail a pattern of "false and misleading" information given to the market between 1998 and 2003 which Shell did not start to correct until January this year."

AccountancyAge: Shell committed 'unprecedented misconduct': “This included the false announcements made about the levels of its oil reserves, despite warnings that its figures were 'false or misleading'.”

Fool.com: Shell Shocked?: “If the stink of a recent restatement and high-sulfur gas mixture wasn't enough to have shareholders gasping for air, then the past year's proven oil reserves scandal certainly was.”

The Scotsman: Shell's £82.7M Fines over Reserves Crisis Confirmed: “False or misleading statements were given to investors about the extent of Shell’s reserves as far back as 1998, the FSA said.”

thisislondon.co.uk: Shell oil scandal 'began in 1998': “the FSA said Shell made false and misleading statements between 1998 and 2003.”

CNN: Shell settles fraud case for $150M: Oil company agrees to pay SEC for overstating reserves, also settles market abuse case in Britain.

Acrobat Reader is needed to access the SEC & FSA Report files below. Please be patient when downloading as the files contain multiple pages. (To download a FREE Acrobat Reader click on the adobe link): http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html)

CLICK ON LINK BELOW TO READ SECURITIES & EXCHANGE COMMISSION REPORT: http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/34-50233.pdf

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO READ FINANCIAL SERVICES AUTHORITY REPORT: http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/final/shell_24aug04.pdf

PRESS STATEMENT BY FINANCIAL SERVICES AUTHORITY: FSA fines Shell £17,000,000 for market abuse

The Times: FSA exposes long-running deception by Shell executives: “raises questions about the role of senior executives who led Shell in the late 1990s, including Sir Mark Moody-Stuart”

The Times: SHELL shareholders have demanded that more heads roll at the world’s third-largest oil company to regain investor confidence.: “The people who are in charge of Shell today ... were there when these activities were going on and are still involved at the highest level..."

The Times: Pressing questions: “Can Shell rebuild its reputation?”: “Is Shell a takeover play?”: “Why did the auditors not resign when they questioned the booking of gas reserves in 1998?”:  “Should they resign now?”

Daily Telegraph: Shell takes mauling over 'market abuse': “Shell was yesterday savaged by regulators in Britain and America for "unprecedented misconduct": ‘The FSA said Shell "disseminated false or misleading information as to the true extent of its proved reserves" from 1998 until last July.'

The Guardian: Solitary part-timer conducted group audit:  “The FSA makes clear that Shell's reserves difficulties began in 1997”

The Guardian: Shell's shame: FSA spells out abuse: “Fadel Gheit, an oil analyst at broker Oppenheimer & Co in New York, said the latest revelations from the regulators proved this was a corporate scandal of "historic proportions". He added: "Short of Enron... I have not seen anything like this in 30 years of covering the market."

The Guardian: Damned in detail - but let off lightly: Shell faced far higher penalty in the US: The Financial Services Authority's judgment of the Shell reserves scandal is damning both in detail and conclusion, accusing the company of "unprecedented misconduct".

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: SEC Order Shows Many Involved In Shell Reserves Debacle: “administrative order confirms that the scandal touched many officials beyond the senior executives who have left the company”

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: SEC, FSA Fine Shell For Reserves Overstatements: "The SEC can still bring civil charges against individuals. Prosecutors at the U.S. Justice Department - who can bring criminal and civil charges - are continuing their own probe into the reserves issue"

Houston Chronicle: Probe aims at top: Investigators say Royal Dutch-Shell officials in sights

Investors.com: Royal Dutch/Shell Fined $120 Million, Lives On to Overstate Another Day: “It is the third largest for the SEC, after WorldCom Inc…”

The New York Times: Shell Settles Oil Reserve Fraud Case for $150.7 Million:  Degenhardt added that the overstatements had occurred ``over an extended period.''

The Times: An auditor of no account: “the horror story that has emerged from Shell”: “determination to present the City with inflated numbers…widespread": "when the company, under the leadership of SIR MARK MOODY-STUART, established five Value Creation Teams, it was certainly looking for creativity. That a paper of May 1998 could have been entitled 'Creating Value through Entrepreneurial Management of Hydrocarbon Resource Values' is an eloquent indication of what was to follow"

Daily Mail: Shocking rebuke stings Shell: “Officials are said to have found Shell's behaviour particularly appalling given the fact that the Anglo-Dutch giant had appeared a pillar of respectability.”

London Evening Standard: Shell scandal 'could be repeated’: “Findings by regulators have widened the scandal by accusing Shell of giving false reserve figures from 1998 to 2003, raising questions about the role of executives, including SIR MARK MOODY-STUART"

The Scotsman: Fresh probe into Shell oil reserves scandal: Watchdogs to target ‘those responsible’

ShellNews.net: The Shell Chairman responsible for Shell’s descent into cover-up, scandal and shame on an epic scale - Sir Mark Moody-Stuart

London Evening Standard: Shell faces £830m Nigeria claim: “The FSA's conclusions will raise questions about the part played by Watts' predecessor, SIR MARK MOODY-STUART, chairman between 1997 and 2001.

Forbes: Nigerian Senate Orders Shell Unit to Pay: “Nigeria's Senate has ordered a subsidiary of petroleum giant Royal/Dutch Shell to pay a Nigerian ethnic group US$1.5 billion… for oil spills in their homelands”

Forbes: Shell to Spend More on North Sea Venture: Shell has acknowledged that the overstatement of reserves and "inappropriate" accounting in other business areas resulted in profits being inflated by US$432 million.

Los Angeles Times: Shell Increases 2004 Spending in Europe: “The alleged role of individuals in the scandal remains under investigation by the SEC, and Shell also faces a separate probe by the U.S. Justice Department.”

Thursday 26 August, 2004

The Independent: Shell hit by $1.5bn oil pollution claim from Nigerian Senate: “Shell was linked by international campaigners to the military government of Sani Abacha, which executed a delta activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa.”

ShellNews.net: Sir Mark Moody-Stuart - The Shell Chairman responsible for Shell’s descent into cover-up, scandal and shame on an epic scale

The Times: The misreporting scandal: Shell penalties 'bolster' “BILLION-DOLLAR” class action lawsuits: “A source close to the SEC told The Times last night that a list of questions had been sent to all Shell executives involved in the inquiry. It is understood that those questions have been passed to, among others, SIR MARK MOODY-STUART..."

Financial Times: Regulators dig deeper into Royal Dutch/Shell's problems: “The SEC is scathing about Shell's advice to investors that it had changed its mathematics, saying in its 1998 annual report only that estimation methods "have been refined".

The Times: Shareholders could be damaged beyond repair: “Several lawyers specialising in class actions on behalf of aggrieved investors are circling the Anglo-Dutch group, which is well within the orbit of American law.”

Daily Telegraph: Nigeria hits Shell with $1.5bn bill: “Shell and Nigeria's state oil company would ultimately be forced to increase environmental spending in the country.”

The Guardian: Shell hit by $1.5bn Nigeria spill claim Senate: action on pollution adds to damage from reserves scandal

AFX Europe (Focus); Hong Kong-listed Shell Electric requests suspension pending announcement

Irish Independent: Good addresses, interesting gamble: “When the oil price goes up the value of their reserves goes up, the share price goes up... and vice versa. However, Shell's recent performance - where its reserves had to be written down and the oil giant was fined - turned that market truism on its head."

Financial Times: R Dutch/Shell told to pay compensation: “Nigeria accounts for about 10 per cent of Shell's production but the company's position is seen as increasingly precarious”

Friday 27 August, 2004

ShellNews.net: Sir Mark Moody-Stuart - The Shell Chairman responsible for Shell’s descent into cover-up, scandal and shame on an epic scale

Financial Times: Governance: Managers look for the moral dimension: “Post-Enron, post-Shell, post-WorldCom, post-Parmalat”

The Independent: Oil companies must be made to follow UN on human rights: “Shell and BP the leaders in building a human rights responsibility into their business principles and recognising that explicit adherence to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights"

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Petrobras Executives Continue In Chile, Mulling Takeover: "considering an asset swap involving Petrobras upstream assets and Shell downstream operations, including service stations in Chile and Argentina and refining in the latter country."

AFX Europe (Focus); Sinopec pulls out of 18 bln usd gas project with PetroChina - report

Business Times (Malaysia); Scomi unit gets Shell deal

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Shell Transport Buys Back 1.5M Shares At 394.64P

Saturday 28 August, 2004

Daily Telegraph: The landslide bringing down Shell grandees: “The SEC and FSA reports, however, go back to the previous regime, when Sir Mark Moody-Stuart was chairman.”: "The Shell Show, a tragicomedy in an unlimited number of parts..."

The Times: “FSA’s report accuses Shell of market abuse by announcing false oil reserves between 1998 and 2003, implicating several major executives in the scandal, including Sir Mark Moody-Stuart”

Financial Times: Shell-shocked: “Shell was found to have "announced false or misleading reserves and reserves replacement ratios throughout the period 1998 to 2003"…: “three heads have rolled… other people in key positions during that time remain. They include Jeroen van der Veer… and Sir Mark Moody-Stuart”

Financial Times: Buoyant E&P sector “Shell has a particular problem at the moment. It is running out of oil in the ground and has lost a chairman and faced public humiliation following surprise cuts in its oil reserve estimates earlier this year.”

The Guardian: He's no Hector: David Varney, executive chairman of Revenue and Customs: “Varney admits to being "very concerned" about seeing Shell immersed in a reserves scandal.”

Daily Mail: Alarm at former Shell chiefs' options: “Pirc says Watts could make £3.1m if the shares reach 552p”: “Regulators are still investigating those believed to have had a role in the company's reserves scandal.”

Sunday 29 August, 2004

Sunday Telegraph: Shell's auditors in firing line as US lawyers prepare class action: “Shell had ignored internal warnings for several years that it was overstating its reserves"

Sunday Telegraph: Shell in Hell

The Observer: We all pay price for murky gas market: “Shell's £84 million fine for falsifying its gas and oil reserve statements”

THE BUSINESS: Regulators must bring Shell directors to book: “a deliberate attempt by Shell, over a number of years, not just a few months, to overstate their oil and gas reserves.”

Daily Express: FAT CATS REWARD: SIR PHILIP Watts: His deputy, Dutchman Walter van der Vijver, repeatedly warned him of the overstatement and finally exploded in an angry e-mail last November that he was "sick and tired of lying about the extent of our reserves".

Sunday Times: Shell plans bonus to rally workforce: “some staff in the exploration and production division had oil-reserves replacement as one of the targets that determined their pay.”

The Scotsman: Concerns over potential £3m windfall: “Ensuing investigations by the US Securities and Exchanges Commission and the UK Financial Services Authority revealed that the oil major had been over-inflating its reserves since 1998, implicating the company’s top management in the scandal.”

Stuff.co.nz: Oil finds fuel shareholders' bid against Shell: “to press their long-running $23 million insider trading case against Shell.”: “The High Court has already ruled the small shareholders had a case to take against Shell. That decision was upheld by the Appeal Court.”

New Sabah Times: Shell's "Merdeka 2004" mineral water on sale Aug 31

Bloomberg: Sinopec, Shell Set Up Venture to Tap Retail Business in China

Times of India: LNG promise seen to ward off oil price woes: "Scenario planners at Royal Dutch/Shell think that gas may surpass oil as the world's most important energy source by 2025."

Monday 30 August, 2004 (UK BANK HOLIDAY)

The Scotsman: Shell knew of error in reserves in 1998: “AUDITORS at Royal Dutch/Shell, the British-Dutch energy group, warned the company as early as 1998 that its reserves figures may have been overstated…”

The Scotsman: Auditors dragged into Shell lawsuit: “role of auditors KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers in the scandal that wiped £2.9 billion off Shell’s market capitalisation in one day.”

Daily Telegraph: Shell will abolish 'discovery bonus' “Crisis-hit Shell is scrapping a controversial scheme which links staff pay levels to the amount of oil and gas employees find.”: “latest attempt by Shell to restore its reputation”

The Times: Shell boss pours oil on troubled water: “the scathing reports, in which the FSA accused Shell of announcing false oil-reserve figures since as far back as 1998 again drove investors to rage that not enough was being done to restore credibility.”

The Guardian: £17m Shell shock was just an early broadside in FSA war on abuse: “Shell's action was made more serious because false or misleading announcements on reserves were made from 1998 to 2003. Even though Shell had indications and warnings from 2000 to 2003 that figures for proved reserves were incorrect, its actions continued.”

Financial Times: Royal Dutch/Shell to revise staff bonus scheme: “The scandal prompted the resignation of three senior executives, investigations by US, UK and Dutch regulators, a criminal probe by the US Department of Justice and investor lawsuits.”

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Shell Plans Team Performance Bonus Scheme From January: “intended to help rebuild the company's credibility.”

TheDayOnline (Nigeria): Shell Plans $9bn Five-year Investment: “Shell said it was currently losing on the average, 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) to crude theft.”

Philippine Daily Inquirer: Refiled tax credit scam cases designed to fail, says witness: “Shell had cases filed against it, but it was a mere transferee, or buyer of fraudulent tax credit certificates sold by the Chingkoe group.”

AFX Europe (Focus): Royal Dutch/Shell plans new staff bonus scheme: “Bernstein Liebhard & Lifshitz… ‘lead plaintiff’… considering including the auditors when it files an amended complaint against Shell next month.”

New York Times: Shell, Sinopec in China Retail Venture: "But Shell still lagged rival BP in the race for a piece of the lucrative Chinese market.”

Financial Times: Retired Shell engineer played central role: “the company had been engaged in accounting manoeuvres since 1997-98, including a flawed internal audit function”

Planet Ark: Russian Oil Project to Be Vetted for Whale Threat: “the International Whaling Commission last month warned energy exploration could kill off the 100 or so remaining gray whales on the oil-rich shelf near Russia's Pacific coast”

Planet Ark: Shell in talks with China on Sakhalin gas deal

Hydrocarbon Asia: Malaysia's Shell Refining posts highest quarterly profit: “Chairman Jon Chadwick said: "We are pleased with this back-to-back achievement, surpassing even the record profit for the first quarter this year.”

Daily Mail: Selfishness won’t pay off, says Shell: “Shell refused to comment on whether it is reviewing the role of its auditors, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The accountants may be targeted by the US law firm leading the class action suits against the embattled oil major.”

Tuesday 31 August, 2004

Daily Telegraph: Boards beware: the road to Shell was paved with 'good' intentions: “This being Shell, everything was systematic, and was approved at the highest level, and had been going on for years.”: “On top of all this comes the loss to Shell's reputation - its ultimate hidden reserve.”: “It will have to be rebuilt and earned, and that takes time, if it can be done at all.”

Daily Telegraph: Oil prices drop on ceasefire: “Royal Dutch/Shell has waived its option to buy extra shares in top Czech oil refinery Ceska Rafinerska, saying it would maintain its 16.3pc stake.”

Financial Times: Sinopec denies quitting project: “The company also announced a $187m joint venture with Royal Dutch/Shell to operate 500 petrol stations in eastern China.”

Vanguard: Shell EP Africa leadership to comprise 30% Nigerians...New SPDC DMD appointed: "challenging security situation in the Niger Delta as well as the rising incidence of crude oil theft, currently put at 50,000 per day."

AllAfrica.com: Shell Plans $9bn Five-Year Investment: "Coming at a time when there was some speculation about Shell's future in Nigeria, this development is a resounding demonstration of Shell's long-term commitment…”

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Shell Sheds Refineries, Gas Stations: “Even after this year's headline-grabbing scandal over its oil reserves, most people still best know Anglo-Dutch oil company Royal Dutch/Shell Group by the scallop-shell logo”: “a lot fewer people will be seeing this iconic emblem in the future”

The Scotsman.com: Shell Abandons 'Self First' Bonus Culture: "Shell was found by the Financial Services Authority in the UK and the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US to have committed market abuse and breached listing rules by misleading the market over the extent of its reserves."

Forbes: Shell, Sinopec Launch Gas Station Venture:  “Royal Dutch/Shell and China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., have launched a joint venture to operate a network of about 500 service stations in eastern China's Jiangsu province…”

Reuters: Shell waives Czech refinery share option

Philippine Daily Inquirer: 44 gas stations found duping buyers

Philippine Daily Inquirer: Rural homes without electricity get chance to receive solar power

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