Financial Times: Frank talk at Shell: “Shell needs to draw a line under the booking issue and move on to acquisitions that look its best chance of boosting depleted reserves. Unless it can do so honestly and swiftly, talk of it as a bid target may return.” (ShellNews.net) 16 Dec 04

By Brian Groom

Published: December 16 2004

Sweeping away Royal Dutch/ Shell's 100-year-old corporate structure counts for little unless it can change its deliberative culture. Jeroen van der Veer's cry of frustration yesterday underlines how hard it can be to replace decades of talk with action.

The chief executive told a private meeting of senior executives in the Hague that his head, along with that of exploration and production chief Malcolm Brinded, was on the block unless it quickly sorted out how it booked oil and gas reserves.

After cutting proved reserves by 23 per cent earlier this year, which claimed the jobs of three top bosses, Shell is rechecking once more its 14bn barrels of total reserves. Mr van der Veer's remarks about the problem of "realism" and exploration and production staff "walking with their heads down" suggests this remains difficult.

Shell needs to draw a line under the booking issue and move on to acquisitions that look its best chance of boosting depleted reserves. Unless it can do so honestly and swiftly, talk of it as a bid target may return.