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
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
*****************************************************************
To see news files for each
month, click on the appropriate month below: -
Click here for
Shell Breaking News
Click here for our file of original ShellNews.net Stories
Click here for news
on current litigation involving ROYAL DUTCH SHELL
Click here to visit the WEB
PAGES OF SHELL GEOLOGIST/INSIDER, DR JOHN HUONG
Latest
news on Royal Dutch Shell legal battles with whistleblower Dr John Huong
Selection of memorable/shocking
Shell stories from 2004/5
Click here for access to our growing
collection of archive articles relating to Shell (as per example below)
MI6 'Firm' Spied on Green Groups (Sunday
Times archive article 17 June 2001)
Click here to visit the WEB PAGES OF THE NATIONAL UNION OF
OGONI STUDENTS
INTERNATIONAL
Click here for links
to other webpage's/websites relating to Shell's business ethics
Click Here to return to
HOME PAGE