The Washington Times: Ousted Shell exec lashes out at critics

NEW YORK, April 14 (UPI) -- The ousted head of Royal Dutch/Shell's exploration unit issued a statement in New York that his role in the firm's oil reserves scandal has been distorted.

Walter van de Vijver, who in March quit the company after it revealed gross overstatements of its reserves, ripped into critics who have blamed him, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.

He laid responsibility at the feet of the Committee of Managing Directors, which he says was informed "without delay" of reserve bookings that needed to be re-evaluated.

"I found that the company's procedures were in need of improvement and that some prior bookings needed to be re-evaluated for (SEC) compliance purposes," he said Tuesday.

"I communicated my findings to the Committee of Managing Directors without delay."

Van de Vijver says he was asked to resign "without credible explanation".

His comments come just as Shell prepares to release an internal audit that is said to lay much of the blame for the crisis on Sir Philip Watts, former chairman, and van de Vijver.

Both quit two months after Shell admitted 3.9 billion barrels of its proved oil and gas reserves had been wrongly booked with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040414-092853-2490r.htm