THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Shell Faces Court Case On North Sea Oil Rig Deaths In Mar: “Royal Dutch/Shell Group will face a preliminary hearing March 30 in a court case on the deaths of two workers at one of its U.K. North Sea platforms, a spokesman for the Aberdeen prosecutors' office, said Friday.” (ShellNews.net) Posted 12 Feb 05

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

LONDON -- Royal Dutch/Shell Group (RD, SC) will face a preliminary hearing March 30 in a court case on the deaths of two workers at one of its U.K. North Sea platforms, a spokesman for the Aberdeen prosecutors' office, said Friday.

The two men died in September 2003 after a gas leak in the leg of the Brent Bravo platform, off the coast of Scotland, sparking concerns that the Anglo-Dutch oil major, which operates the facility, hadn't put the necessary safety standards in place.

The deaths led to a probe by the U.K.'s safety regulator, the Health and Safety Executive. The latter provides the basis for the court case handled by the "procurator fiscal", Scotland's legal prosecution system.

The tragedy also led Shell to conduct security checks on its North Sea platforms.

A Shell spokesman confirmed the company had been summoned for the court case, without providing more details.

Another suspect death at Brent Bravo on Jan. 1 recently reignited concerns about safety at the platform. But a spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said last week it has concluded the death was due to a heart attack and was not the result of gas leak.

Company Web site: http://www.shell.com

-By Benoit Faucon, Dow Jones Newswires, +44-20-7842-9386; benoit.faucon@dowjones.com