Royal Dutch Shell Group .com Rotating Header Image

July 21st, 2005:

Shell Doubles Cost Projections of Sakhalin II, Project Critics Redouble Opposition

Institutional Shareowner: Shell Doubles Cost Projections of Sakhalin II, Project Critics Redouble Opposition

“Shell is doing a very poor job on both internal governance and managing their own affairs, and communicating to their stakeholders and shareholders…”:

Published July 21, 2005

Shell Doubles Cost Projections of Sakhalin II, Project Critics Redouble Opposition

by William Baue

The largest oil and gas project in the world meets resistance over concerns about its social and environmental impacts, as well as its economic sustainability.

Last year, Shell (ticker: RD) rocked the business world when it revised its proven oil reserves by 20 percent, later revealing that top executives had foreknowledge of mistakes in reserve statements. Last week, Shell again sent out shock waves when it revised cost projections twofold for its Sakhalin II project, upping estimations from $10 billion to “the order of $20 billion” while simultaneously announcing delays to the project timeline. Sakhalin II is an oil and gas extraction project taking place off of the east coast of Russia that is already producing oil. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries will begin in the summer of 2008, and drilling will continue through 2014. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Irish Times: Protesters Seek Enquiry Into State Deals With Shell Oil And Statoil

Irish Times: Protesters Seek Enquiry Into State Deals With Shell Oil And Statoil

“The protesters, who include relatives of the five men jailed for contempt of a court order banning them from blocking Shell access to their land, also want the dealings of the Petroleum Affairs Division (PAD) of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources to be investigated.”

Posted Thursday 21 July 2005

Follow The Money Blog:

http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70888

Call For National Day Of Action

http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=71002

Questions For Government On Subject Of Shell In Mayo read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Irish Independent: Wall of euro notes

Irish Independent: Wall of euro notes

Thursday 21 July 2005

Sir – I feel sure that when Shell builds a protective barrier of large denomination euro notes around their offending pipeline, all worry about danger will evaporate.

Patrick Grennan, Glasnevin, Dublin 11

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Pound’s fall blamed on Shell

Daily Mail (UK): Pound’s fall blamed on Shell: “SHELL celebrated the historic unification of its two companies by pushing the pound to an 8-month low, a startling sign of its huge clout in the markets.”

Thursday Posted 21 July 2005

By Brian O’Connor

SHELL celebrated the historic unification of its two companies by pushing the pound to an 8-month low, a startling sign of its huge clout in the markets.

Sterling fell sharply against the euro, and then the dollar, as UK fund managers scrambled to buy Dutch shares to raise their holdings in the Anglo-Dutch giant, which today becomes one of the top two UK stocks, worth over lOpc of the Footsie 100 index.

Currency pundits said that this amounted to a large-scale switch from pounds into euros. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Age.com (Australia): Royal Dutch Shell shares fall on debut

The Age.com (Australia): Royal Dutch Shell shares fall on debut

Thursday July 21, 2005 – 7:54AM

Shares in oil giant Royal Dutch Shell Plc, formed by the unification of Royal Dutch and Britain’s Shell Transport and Trading, slipped on their market debuts on Wednesday as fund buying tapered off.

Shell “A” shares, which originate from the oil company’s former Dutch parent, fell when trading opened and closed down 3.18 percent at 1,766-1/2 pence.

Shell “B” shares, which spring from its former UK parent, opened up and then slipped to close 1.69 per cent lower. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Guardian: Coin clipping

The Guardian (UK): Coin clipping: “Rather than simplifying Shell’s life on the markets, the oil group’s move to consolidate both its board and shareholder structure – consummated on Tuesday – has had the opposite effect.”

Thursday 21 July 2005

Rather than simplifying Shell’s life on the markets, the oil group’s move to consolidate both its board and shareholder structure – consummated on Tuesday – has had the opposite effect.

The traditional market game of playing the small pricing discrepancies between the old British entity, Shell Transport & Trading, and the old Dutch entity, Royal Dutch (caused by differing tax treatment, dividend anomalies and exchange rate movements) is one of the oldest known arbitrage opportunities. Some men, and even possibly a few women, have spent entire careers in the City of London playing it. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Financial Times: Losing the plot: No wonder Shell had a problem keeping track of its reserves

Financial Times: Losing the plot: “No wonder Shell had a problem keeping track of its reserves.”

Thursday 21 July 2005

By Clay Harris

Published: July 21 2005

Royal Dutch Shell joins the ranks of mapping muddlers (Mudlark, July 2/19) by transposing the names of Oman and Qatar on a map in the 2004 annual report. Set beside that howler, an inconsistent representation of the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad is one for the anoraks. No wonder Shell had a problem keeping track of its reserves.

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Unified Shell fails to fire investors on LSE debut

Financial Times: Unified Shell fails to fire investors on LSE debut

“Shell shocked the market last week by disclosing that its Russian gas project, Sakhalin-2, was at least eight months behind schedule and $10bn (£5.75bn) over budget.”: ”Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled gas monopoly, recently indicated that it was seeking to improve the terms of an asset swap agreed with Shell this month, under which it would take a 25 per cent stake in Sakhalin-2.”

By Thomas Catan

Published: Thursday July 21 2005

Shares in the newly unified Royal Dutch Shell fell on their first day of trading yesterday, as investors turned their attention from the reorganisation of the Anglo-Dutch energy group to the health of its business.

Moody’s Investor Service, the international ratings agency, said it was maintaining a negative outlook on Shell as it studied the company’s exploration and production business. It also promised to assess the “implications of rising capital costs and its ability to show improved capital returns on long-term investments”. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell’s rush for Russia dampens stock debut

Financial Times: Shell’s rush for Russia dampens stock debut

“Investors yesterday were queueing to buy shares in Russian gas company Novatek and to dump the new unified Royal Dutch Shell on their London market debuts.”: “The reason behind this odd reversal of roles is that Shell must still convince the markets it can resolve its reserve problems, along with the $10bn additional hit it is taking on its flagship Russian gas project.”: “If these difficulties persist, they are likely to revive talk of a Total-Shell mega-merger as the best way forward.”

Thursday 21 July 2005

By Paul Betts

Published: July 21 2005

Investors yesterday were queueing to buy shares in Russian gas company Novatek and to dump the new unified Royal Dutch Shell on their London market debuts.

This may seem puzzling, given Moscow’s efforts to regain control of its energy industry and what should have been a red-letter day for the Anglo-Dutch major.

The reason behind this odd reversal of roles is that Shell must still convince the markets it can resolve its reserve problems, along with the $10bn additional hit it is taking on its flagship Russian gas project. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Rudderless Shell still worth backing

The Independent: Rudderless Shell still worth backing

“The company has also created a single board, after blaming its double-headed, dual-nationality structure for the disasters of recent years. Shell had been overstating its reserves of oil, and had to fess up last year, cutting the number by one-third. But only last week the company revealed the development of its Sakhalin natural gas field in Russia was 100 per cent over budget, a whopping extra cost of $10bn (£5.8bn) that had not even been hinted when Shell sold part of the field earlier this month.”

The Investment Column: Edited by Stephen Foley

Published: Thursday 21 July 2005

Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil giant, has merged its Anglo half, Shell Transport & Trading, with its Dutch half, Royal Dutch. If you owned 100 Shell shares on Tuesday, you now own 29 Royal Dutch Shell shares. They fell in value a little on their stock market debut yesterday, but hang on to them.

Strictly speaking, you own Royal Dutch Shell ‘B’ shares, while Netherlands investors own ‘A’ shares. The difference is that ‘A’ shares attract a Dutch tax, but that will usually be reflected in the lower price of the ‘A’ shares. It is all a little confusing and UK investors might as well stick to the ‘B’ shares, but the important thing is that the company you own still has the same assets and prospects as it had at the start of the week. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell failed to disclose spiralling costs in merger prospectus

THE TIMES: Shell failed to disclose spiralling costs in merger prospectus

SHELL failed to disclose in its merger prospectus the massive cost overruns at Sakhalin II, the Siberian gas project whose budget has doubled to $20 billion (£11.5 billion).

Thursday 21 July 2005

By Carl Mortished

SHELL failed to disclose in its merger prospectus the massive cost overruns at Sakhalin II, the Siberian gas project whose budget has doubled to $20 billion (£11.5 billion).

A Stock Exchange document published in late May lists Sakhalin as the largest Shell investment but gives no indication of the scale of the cost and scheduling troubles that have plagued the project since its launch in May 2003.

Last week Shell revealed that Sakhalin costs would be “of the order of $20 billion”. However, the listing particulars published on May 19 stated: “Overall investment in the Sakhalin II project is expected to be over $10 billion.” read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell’s Unified Stock Declines In First Day of London Trading

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Shell’s Unified Stock Declines In First Day of London Trading

“Until yesterday, the Anglo-Dutch oil group had been controlled by two separate, listed companies: Amsterdam-listed Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., which owned 60%, and London-listed Shell Transport & Trading Co., which owned 40%.

Thursday 21 July 2005

A WALL STREET JOURNAL NEWS ROUNDUP

July 21, 2005

Royal Dutch Shell PLC shares traded as a single stock for the first time yesterday, ending lower as arbitrageurs sold off the stock.

The unification leaves the company as the second-biggest stock on the London Stock Exchange, with a market capitalization of about £125 billion, or roughly €181 billion ($220 billion), slightly behind that of BP PLC.

In London, the Class A shares — owned by former holders of Royal Dutch Petroleum — closed 3.2% lower at £17.66 (€25.54) compared with the £18.25 that would be expected based on the final closing price Tuesday of €50.50 for Royal Dutch shares on Euronext and the 1-for-2 exchange ratio. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

ANOTHER BAD NEWS DAY FOR SHELL

ANOTHER BAD NEWS DAY FOR SHELL

LONDON TIMES ARTICLE IMPLIES THAT SHELL ISSUED A FALSE PROSPECTIVE FOR ITS MERGER: THE INDEPENDENT SAYS THAT SHELL IS “RUDDERLESS”: FT CLAIMS THAT INVESTORS DUMPED THE NEW UNIFIED SHELL SHARES ON THEIR DEBUT DAY AND REVIVES DESIRABLE PROSPECT OF TOTAL/SHELL MEGA-MERGER

Thursday 21 July 2005

By Alfred Donovan

We warned just a few days ago of the huge potential ramifications of the Sakhalin-2 cost overrun debacle. We are pleased to see that the mainstream press has now also picked up on the implications. Our article, first published on Monday 18 July is reprinted below: –

ShellNews.net: THE SHELL SAKHALIN-2 DEBACLE: Credibility concerns over Royal Dutch/Shell Executives, Jeroen van der Veer and Malcolm Brinded following the Salhalin2 $10 billion cost overrun scandal.: “The only thing which has saved the hangover management at Shell is the one element over which they have no influence – the high oil price. In every other respect they are an unmitigated disaster. They should be sent packing.”: Monday 18 July 2005 read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

BLOOMBERG: Shell Canada 2nd-Qtr Profit Rises to Record C$526 Mln (Update3)

BLOOMBERG: Shell Canada 2nd-Qtr Profit Rises to Record C$526 Mln (Update3)

July 21 (Bloomberg) — Shell Canada Ltd., Canada’s fourth- largest oil and natural-gas producer, said second-quarter profit jumped 85 percent to a record amid soaring energy prices and increased oil-sands output.

Net income surged to C$526 million ($432.5 million), or 63 cents a share, from C$285 million, or 34 cents, a year earlier, the Calgary-based company said today in a statement. Sales climbed 28 percent to C$3.39 billion.

Output of bitumen, an extra-heavy crude extracted from northern Alberta’s oil-soaked sands, increased 16 percent to 98,500 barrels a day, Shell Canada said. That was Shell Canada’s share of production from its 60 percent stake in the Athabasca oil-sands venture. The increase helped cut per-barrel operating costs by 2.5 percent and made up for a drop in gas production. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.