The Sunday Telegraph: Shell 'university' planned for India: “Jeroen van der Veer, the chief executive, has made recruitment and staff training a priority after the reserves scandal last year during which it was forced to write down its oil and gas reserves.”: Sunday 20 November 2005

By Sylvia Pfeifer (Filed: 20/11/2005)

Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil giant, has approached the Indian government about setting up a "mini-university" in the country, which would be a first such investment by an oil major.

The company is planning a big recruitment and training drive in Asia in a move to increase the technical capability of its staff working in exploration and production.

V. K. Sibal, the director general of India's Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, described the proposals as a "mini-Shell university", noting that "it is good for us and good for them". Shell already operates two similar learning centres in Houston, Texas and Rijswick in the Netherlands.

Jeroen van der Veer, the chief executive, has made recruitment and staff training a priority after the reserves scandal last year during which it was forced to write down its oil and gas reserves.

A spokeswoman for Shell confirmed that a final decision was due early next year. She added: "In pursuit of Shell's growth projections and scarcity of technical staff from traditional sources, Shell will recruit significant numbers of graduate staff in India."

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