Bloomberg: Former Shell Chairman Claims he Acted `Appropriately,' BBC Says

July 15 (Bloomberg) -- Former Royal Dutch/Shell Group Chairman Philip Watts, who resigned in March after the company said it had overstated its oil reserves, said he acted ``appropriately'' in his role at Shell, the British Broadcasting Corp. said, citing a statement by Watts.

``I remain confident that I acted appropriately and the ongoing investigations will arrive at the same conclusion,'' Watts told a BBC2 documentary about Shell's reserves.

Watts and other top executives were ousted after Shell hurt investors' confidence earlier this year by saying it had overstated its proved oil and gas reserves by 23 percent.

Shell is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission after it was revealed the company overstated proved reserves, a measure of an oil company's value, for more than five years, leading to a U.S. investigation.

To contact the reporter on this story:

Alex Lawler in London at alawler@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story:

Chris Collins at collinsc@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 15, 2004 18:14 EDT

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