Royal Dutch Shell Group .com Rotating Header Image

Walter van de Vijver

Lloyds List: Shell settles with regulators to end reserves scandal

Lloyds List: Shell settles with regulators to end reserves scandal

“findings and conclusions in the FSA’s ‘final notice’ and the SEC’s ‘cease and desist order’.”

Tony Gray

Aug 25, 2004

SHELL has moved closer to consigning one of the oil giant’s darkest chapters to history when it reached final settlements with the US and UK authorities over its mis-statement of proven oil reserves.

The world’s third-largest oil group is paying $120m to the US Securities and Exchange Commission and a record GBP17m ($30.4m) to the UK Financial Services Authority.

These fines come seven months after Shell shocked investors by slashing its proven oil and gas reserves by a fifth, or 4.47bn barrels. 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.

Fresh probe into Shell oil reserves scandal

The Scotsman: Fresh probe into Shell oil reserves scandal

Watchdogs to target ‘those responsible’

JIM STANTON, DEPUTY BUSINESS EDITOR

25 August 04

REGULATORS on both sides of the Atlantic are set to pursue a number of as-yet unnamed individuals that they believe are responsible for the reserves scandal at oil giant Shell.

News of separate investigation came as the embattled company settled fines with British and United States watchdogs over the debacle totalling £84 million.

Wrapping up an initial investigation, British regulator the Financial Services Authority said the Anglo-Dutch group was responsible for “unprecedented misconduct” and was putting out false figures for its proven oil reserves as far back as 1998. 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.

Virtually no hiding place from long arm of computer detectives

Financial Times: Virtually no hiding place from long arm of computer detectives

“…fraud investigation is to turn on a “smoking gun” document…,”: “I am becoming sick and tired about lying about the extent of our reserves issues.”

By Bob Sherwood

Published: August 19 2004

If a commercial court battle, employee discrimination case or fraud investigation is to turn on a “smoking gun” document, the chances are it will have been recovered from a computer.

Oft-quoted statistics claim that about 90 per cent of documents generated by a business are created and stored electronically. Up to 70 per cent of them are never printed as a hard copy.

The value of searching for the killer e-mail has been demonstrated in a number of recent cases. Frank Quattrone, the most prominent investment banker of the internet era, was found guilty in the US in May of covering up an investigation into hot stock offerings at Credit Suisse First Boston, his former employer, at the height of the bull market. 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.

Daily Express: Shell faces takeover challenge from Total

Daily Express: Shell faces takeover challenge from Total

“THE turmoil at Shell has triggered speculation that it could be vulnerable to a takeover or merger”

16 August 04

THE turmoil at Shell has triggered speculation that it could be vulnerable to a takeover or merger, with France’s Total tipped as a contender.

Shell has been rocked this year by revelations that its oil and gas reserves were 20 per cent lower than thought.

The crisis claimed the scalps of three senior executives^ including chairman Sir Philip Watts and the head of exploration Walter van de Vijver.

It has also raised questions about the independence of Shell which has remained on the sidelines while the industry has seen a wave of mergers and takeovers including Exxon’s purchase of Mobil. 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.

An oil giant’s road from Rajasthan to ruin

 FROM OUR AUGUST 2004 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE…

The Independent: Michael Harrison’s Outlook: An oil giant’s road from Rajasthan to ruin

“Shell, by contrast, has endured the most humiliating, torrid and damaging period in its 100-year history. It is hard to think of a more spectacular fall from grace or a more abject example of management failure.”: “The deeper it dug itself into this hole, the more Shell was forced to lie” 

Fortunes; Failure; Scramble

14 August 2004

It is a long way from the arid deserts of Rajasthan to the Shell Centre on London’s South Bank. But two events this week provide a link.

One was the announcement by Cairn Energy that it had made yet another significant oil discovery in a region of India hitherto better known for its sumptuous pink palaces and backpacking tourists. The other was the disclosure that Shell’s former head of exploration and production, Walter van de Vijver, is to receive a £2.5m pay-off after being sacked for his part in the company’s reserves scandal. 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.

SEC to Continue With Shell Interviews Despite Striking Deal

Energy Intelligence Group: SEC to Continue With Shell Interviews Despite Striking Deal: “(SEC) is to continue interviewing Royal Dutch/Shell witnesses next month in connection with the group’s reserves downgrades, despite the deal in principle struck between the two sides”

(Copyright © 2004 Energy Intelligence Group, Inc.)

Thursday, August 5, 2004
Posted 14 August 2004

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is to continue interviewing Royal Dutch/Shell witnesses next month in connection with the group’s reserves downgrades, despite the deal in principle struck between the two sides last week to halt the SEC’s investigation into the company, a Shell source told International Oil Daily on Wednesday.

“There are still some interviews being conducted in September,” the source said. 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.

Daily Mail: Board reforms will suit Shell

Daily Mail: Board reforms will suit Shell

“Call it a triumph of globalisation – or call it a total mess.”

Ruth Sunderland
13 August 2004
Posted 14 August 04

THE senior oilmen who resigned in the wake of Shell’s reserves crisis this year must rank pretty high up the league table of executives who are rewarded for failure.

Dutchman Walter van de Vijver, the former exploration boss, is receiving a golden handshake of up to €3.8m or £2.54m.

Given that he has been portrayed as an ineffectual whistleblower, some may wonder why he is being handed an even bigger golden handshake than the £1m-plus doled out to departed chairman Sir Philip Watts. 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 to Pay $4.6 Million In Severance, Pension To Ousted Executive

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Shell to Pay $4.6 Million In Severance, Pension To Ousted Executive

“The SEC still is investigating individuals involved in the overstatement.”

By CHIP CUMMINS

Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

August 13, 2004; Page A6

LONDON — Royal Dutch/Shell Group said it agreed to a €3.8 million ($4.6 million) severance payment for Walter van de Vijver, a senior executive ousted in March after the company acknowledged that it had overstated its energy reserves.

Shell said it will pay Mr. van de Vijver in installments, subject to continuing cooperation with various authorities still investigating the reserves overstatement. Shell said Mr. van de Vijver, its former head of exploration and production, was also entitled to a deferred annual pension of €385,388, beginning in 2015. 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.

Different dealings weaken Shell group

The Times: Different dealings weaken Shell group: “deemed responsible for the same horrendously damaging issue of cutting corners”

Business Commentary

By Robert Cole

August 13, 2004

SIR PHIL WATTS and Walter van de Vijver were ejected from the Royal Dutch/Shell group at the same time. They were deemed responsible for the same horrendously damaging issue of cutting corners on reported proven oil and gas reserves.

Mr Van de Vijver, we now learn, is to receive a £2.5 million payoff, more than twice as much as his former boss, as well as a deferred pension of £257,000 a year. Perfectly rational arguments could be made for this seemingly inconsistent treatment. The reality, however, is that although both superficially worked for the same integrated organisation, Mr Van de Vijver is a Royal Dutch man, treated according to Dutch law and practice, while Sir Phil was a Shell Transport chap and so dealt with in Anglo Saxon ways. 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 director who was ‘tired of lying’ given £2.5m payoff

The Times: Shell director who was ‘tired of lying’ given £2.5m payoff

“Shell investors lost 50p for every barrel that went missing while Phil and Walter together earned 80p for every barrel mislaid”

August 13, 2004

By Carl Mortished, International Business Editor

THE Shell director who complained that he was “tired of lying” about the state of the company’s oil and gas reserves is to be paid £2.5 million in compensation for losing his job as head of oil exploration in the Anglo-Dutch multinational.

Walter van de Vijver’s settlement eclipses the £1 million paid to Sir Philip Watts, Shell’s former chairman, who, together with Mr Van de Vijver, was removed from office in March for the pair’s role in the misreporting of Shell’s oil and gas reserves. 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 failure was huge but the rewards have been ample

Daily Telegraph: Shell’s failure was huge but the rewards have been ample

“It would be hard to imagine a more extreme form of top management failure than that at Shell”

City comment

Edited by Neil Collins, City Editor

(Filed: 13/08/2004)

It would be hard to imagine a more extreme form of top management failure than that at Shell, and the executives involved deserved to pay for it with their jobs and reputations. Sir Philip Watts will surely never get another senior post in a public company, and his successor in charge of Shell’s exploration and production is also likely to present a serious challenge to a recruitment specialist.

It all looks pretty harsh until you see what the pair have been paid to go away. We already knew about Sir Philip’s £1m, and now we are told that Walter van de Vijver is to be comforted with 3.8m, or about £2.5m in real money. 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 boss to get £2.5m pay-off

Daily Telegraph: Shell boss to get £2.5m pay-off

“The final payment is likely to exceed 4m”: The pay-off is likely to be seen by critics as another example of “reward for failure”.

By Christopher Hope (Filed: 13/08/2004)

Walter van der Vijver, one of Shell’s two senior directors who resigned after the company’s reserves crisis earlier this year, has been handed a 3.8m (£2.5m) pay-off, worth four times his basic salary.

It is more than twice as much as the £1m given to Sir Philip Watts, Shell’s former chairman of the committee of managing directors, who also lost his job.

The pair quit after the Anglo-Dutch group shocked investors in January by revealing that its “proven” oil and gas reserves were 20pc less than it had thought. Shell then revised the figure a further three times before concluding that it had overstated its proven reserves by 23pc – or 4.47billion barrels. 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.

Daily Express: Shell scandal boss wins £2.5m payoff

Daily Express: Shell scandal boss wins £2.5m payoff

“I am becoming sick and tired about lying about the extent of our reserves issues and the downward revisions that need to be done because of far too aggressive/optimistic bookings.”

By Andrew Johnson

THE former Shell exploration and production boss who admitted lying about the company’s reserves of oil has been awarded a pay-off worth €3.8 million (£2.5 million).

Walter van de Vijver will be given €1.9 million now and the rest after investigations into the scandal, depending on his co-operation with them and their results.

Van de Vijver and ex-chairman Sir Philip Watts stepped down from the Anglo-Dutch oil giant’s board “by mutual consent” in March after an internal inquiry into what eventually resulted in a 4.5 billion-barrel downgrade to the company’s reserves. 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.

DAILY EXPRESS: BUMBLING SHELL BORDERS ON FARCE

DAILY EXPRESS: BUMBLING SHELL BORDERS ON FARCE

“HAPPY memories of Peter Sellers’ portrayal of the bumbling Inspector Clouseau”

STEPHEN KAHN
CITY EDITOR
13 August 2004

HAPPY memories of Peter Sellers’ portrayal of the bumbling Inspector Clouseau were brought to mind yesterday in Shell’s official response to talk that a merger of its British and Dutch companies is on the cards. This would be a much more radical step than simply to unify the two boards in its ongoing bid to pacify shareholders in the wake of the oil reserves scandal.

“Nothing’s being ruled in or ruled out,” said a spokesman for the troubled oil giant. In a cod French accent it would have been a turn of phrase worthy of the great detective himself. 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 to pay Walter van de Vijver €3.8m

Financial Times: Shell to pay Walter van de Vijver €3.8m

By Carola Hoyos and Sundeep Tucker in London

13 August 04

Royal Dutch/Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas group, has agreed to pay Walter van de Vijver, its former head of exploration and production, €3.8m ($4.6m) in severance.

Shell investors, however, said they were more interested in the company’s new willingness to unify its boards and make other changes to its corporate structure.

William Claxton-Smith of Insight Investment said of the pay-off: “This is not a huge issue in the minds of shareholders. We believe Shell is doing what it has to do.” 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.

Money talks for Shell’s singing director

FROM OUR AUGUST 2004 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE…

The Independent: Michael Harrison’s Outlook: Money talks for Shell’s singing director

“Shell is hardly a byword for good corporate governance, and yesterday it lived up to its reputation by producing another stonker…”: “As usual, Shell is unable to cast any light in the darkness as to why the two men’s severance arrangements are so different in size and nature. Perish the thought that one of them is being paid to grass up the other.”

13 August 2004

Shell is hardly a byword for good corporate governance, and yesterday it lived up to its reputation by producing another stonker of a pay-off for one of the directors caught up in its reserves reporting scandal.

On this occasion, however, there is a twist in the tail. Walter van de Vijver is going to have to sing for his severance. In order to qualify for his full £2.5m package, the company’s former head of exploration and production will have to co-operate with the “relevant authorities” as they conduct their various criminal inquiries into how Shell came to invent quite so many non-existent barrels. 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.

London Evening Standard: £2.5m for Shell boss who quit

London Evening Standard: £2.5m for Shell boss who quit

“will astonish investors who have lost millions from the collapse in Shell’s share price since the debacle broke”

Jim Armitage

12 August 2004

Posted 13 August 04

WALTER van de Vijver, the former Shell operations director who resigned over the scandal about overbooking oil reserves, will scoop a pay-off of €3.8m (£2.5m).

The payment is bound to spark a new fat-cat outcry over the issue of ‘rewards for failure’ and will astonish investors who have lost millions from the collapse in Shell’s share price since the debacle broke.

Shell said the payment to de Vijver, who was in charge of exploration and development, would be made in stages. 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.

Reuters: Ex-Shell director gets 2.5 million pounds

Reuters: Ex-Shell director gets 2.5 million pounds 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: Former Shell director Walter van de Vijver gets £2.5m payout

The Guardian: Former Shell director gets £2.5m payout

Mark Tran

Thursday August 12, 2004

Walter van de Vijver, the former Shell director at the centre of the storm over the oil group’s overstated reserves, is to get a €3.8m (£2.5m) pay-off.

It emerged yesterday that Mr van de Vijver, ousted as head of exploration and production in March and once hailed as prospective executive chairman, will receive an immediate €1.9m severance package.

But the Dutch former executive, who has repeatedly claimed he warned his fellow board members about overbooking reserves well before the scandal broke, will get the rest in instalments and subject to strict conditions. 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 investors threaten to revolt

Financial Times: Shell investors threaten to revolt

Posted 14 June 04

Royal Dutch/Shell faces the prospect of a investor revolt. With two weeks before the oil giant’s delayed twin annual meetings, institutional shareholders are growing increasingly frustrated by the secrecy surrounding the internal review of its governance structures and they plan to go public with their grievances, in person, at the meetings.

Since January 9 Shell has downgraded its proved oil reserves four times and, in the aftermath, shed Sir Philip Watts, group chairman, Walter van de Vijver, head of exploration and production, and Judy Boynton, finance director. It is also facing numerous class action lawsuits and regulatory investigations in the US, UK and the Netherlands. 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.

Royal Dutch Shell News Thursday 15 April, 2004

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.

Royal Dutch Shell News Tuesday 13 April, 2004

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.