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January, 2004:

JANUARY 2004 ROYAL DUTCH SHELL NEWS

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Shell News Saturday 31 January, 2004

Shell News Saturday 31 January, 2004 

Houston Chronicle: Tough day awaiting Shell chief

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Shell News Thursday 29 January, 2004

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Shell News Tuesday 27 January, 2004

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Shell News Monday 26 January, 2004

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Shell News Sunday 25 January, 2004

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Shell News Friday 23 January, 2004

Shell News Friday 23 January, 2004 

Daily Mail: Rebels demand shake-up at Shell

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Daily Mail: Rebels demand shake-up at Shell

By Brian O’Connor,
23 January 2004 

DISSIDENT Shell investors are seeking a shake-up in the complex structure of the board and its committees. One result may be that an outside chairman is appointed when Sir Philip Watts steps down. 

This would be a revolution for Shell, but big investors are in a revolutionary mood.  

Though most boards now have a full-time chief executive and a part-time chairman, the UK company Shell Transport has traditionally had an executive chairman. So too has its sister company Royal Dutch Petroleum.  read more

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Daily Mail: Rumours of Watts departure lifts Shell

By Geoff Foster

22 January 2004

RUMOURS were rife that Sir Philip Watts might make a sudden departure. The chairman of Shell has never been everyone’s cup of tea. He further blotted his copybook by failing to turn up to answer analysts’ and investors’ questions about the oil giant’s shock admission that it has cut its proven reserve estimates by 20%.

Some £3bn was wiped off its share price, but Sir Philip was nowhere to be seen.

Shell firmed 4 1/4p to 365 1/2p yesterday on hefty turnover of 73m as dealers heard that major shareholder Legal & General was pressing for a change. Some suggested his departure could even be confirmed when the group reports annual results on 6 February. If not then, the word is that April’s AGM will certainly be his last. read more

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Reuters: Shell boss drops out of Davos economic forum

Thu 22 January, 2004 10:29

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – Royal Dutch/Shell boss Phil Watts, facing shareholder wrath after the company’s downgrade of its oil and gas reserves, has cancelled an appearance at the World Economic Forum.

“He’s not coming,” said a Shell spokesman in the Swiss ski resort of Davos on Thursday. “You will understand that the schedules of chief executives are very busy and constantly changing.”

Watts, chairman of Shell’s Committee of Managing Directors, had been due to take part in a discussion on Thursday on “how business boosts development” at the annual gathering of political and business leaders. read more

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New York Times: Shell Lowers Estimate, and Investors Ask Why

By HEATHER TIMMONS

January 22, 2004

LONDON, Jan. 21 – Shell’s surprise cut in its reserve estimate this month may be a sign that the uniquely structured company needs to reconfigure itself, some investors and analysts are saying.

Attention has been focused on Sir Philip B. Watts, who led the unit in question before becoming chairman in 2001, but also on Shell’s two-headed structure. Ultimately, most investors doubt that Sir Philip, who will leave his post next year, will step down or be forced out. But the time may be right for Shell to reconsider its overall operating structure, some investors are saying. read more

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Shell News Thursday 22 January, 2004

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Shell News Tuesday 20 January, 2004

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Shell News Monday 19 January, 2004

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Shell News Sunday 18 January, 2004

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Shell News Saturday 17 January, 2004

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Shell News Friday 16 January, 2004

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Shell News Thursday 15 January, 2004

Shell News Thursday 15 January, 2004 

The Economist: Shell shock

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Shell News Wednesday 14 January, 2004

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Shell News Tuesday 13 January, 2004

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Shell News Monday, January 12, 2004

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Shell News Archive Sunday, January 11, 2004

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Bad news day for Shell: 10 Jan 2004

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Shell News Archive Friday, January 9, 2004

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CANADIAN PRESS (NATIONAL POST) Royal Dutch/Shell scales back proved reserves; Canadian estimates unaffected

January 9, 2004

LONDON (AP) – The Royal Dutch/Shell Group is downgrading one-fifth of its proved oil and natural gas reserves after reassessing the prospects of some of its projects.

Shell said Friday it was recategorizing 3.9 billion barrels of oil equivalent from proved reserves to “scope for recovery.” None of Shell’s Canadian reserves were affected by the change. The “scope for recovery” category means that although the same volume of hydrocarbons is believed to be present, the development of the projects is not mature enough for them to qualify as proved reserves. read more

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BBC NEWS: Shell shares dive as reserves cut

Published: 2004/01/09 09:44:30 GMT

Giant oil group Royal Dutch Shell has said it is trimming its figures for proven oil and gas reserves by 20%.  

Stunned investors promptly began a sell-off that knocked more than 7% off the Anglo-Dutch firm’s share price in both London and Amsterdam.  

Shell said it does not expect the reassement to have any impact on its financial results, as 90% of the reserves involved remain undeveloped. But analysts were unconvinced. Shares in fellow oil firm BP also fell 2%.   read more

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REUTERS BOND NEWS UPDATE – Moody’s, S&P say may cut Shell ratings

Fri January 9, 2004 04:11 PM ET
 
NEW YORK, Jan 9 (Reuters) – Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s on Friday said they may cut the top ratings for Royal Dutch/Shell Group (RD.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) (SHEL.L: Quote, Profile, Research) , after Shell on Friday cut by 20 percent its estimates of how much oil and gas it was certain it could profitably extract from its fields.
 
Investors reacted to Shell’s announcement by criticizing management and punishing the company’s share price, which fell more than 7 percent.
 
Both Moody’s and S&P affirmed their short-term ratings for Shell.
 
But Moody’s said it may cut the group’s “Aaa” long term ratings, while S&P said it may cut the group’s “AAA” ratings, which in both cases are the highest possible ratings.
 
Many western oil companies are struggling to find new oilfields to replace maturing ones, which is crucial to assuring future earnings growth.
 
But in recent years, investors have perceived Shell as lagging in adding new fields. read more

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FT: Shell makes shock cut in oil reserves estimate

By Joanna Chung and Gordon Smith
Published: January 9 2004 9:48
 
Royal Dutch/Shell, one of the world’s largest and most respected oil companies, shocked shareholders and rivals on Friday by slashing estimates of its proved reserves by 20 per cent.
 
The revelation that almost 4bn barrels of oil and gas would have to be reclassified to comply with US Securities and Exchange Commission rules triggered a drop of more than 7 per cent in Shell’s share price – knocking about £3bn ($5.5bn) off its market value and hitting shares across the sector.

 
Reserves are a key measure of an oil company’s health. Although difficulty of finding new reserves has become an industry-wide problem, Shell has been among the least successful of its peers in making new finds. Many of the company’s added reserves have come in the form of upward revisions of the capacity of fields already discovered – rather than through exploration successes. On Friday, Shell said its reserves would shrink again this year, with only 70-90 per cent of oil and gas extracted being replaced.
 
Although Shell said the decision would have no material effect on its financial statements, or the total volume of hydrocarbons in place, the news intensified pressure on Sir Philip Watts, its embattled chairman.
 
Sir Philip was head of Shell’s exploration and production division when the fields in question – the majority of them in Australia and Nigeria – were classified as proved. The revision suggests Shell took an unrealistic view of how quickly it could develop the fields. The company said the move would bring all its reserves up to “a common standard of definition”.
 
Leading UK shareholders said the news was the latest example of poor communication by the oil group. They were particularly angered by the absence of Sir Philip and other board members from a conference call explaining the revision to investors on Friday. One large UK shareholder said: “No one likes to deliver bad news but he should not have left it for others to do.” read more

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Shell News Archive Wednesday, January 7, 2004

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Canada.com: 90 days to file Shell gas claims

Tony Tighe
Global TV
January 7, 2004

Anyone who’s vehicle engine was damaged by a bad additive in Shell Gasoline 2 years ago, has until May 7th to apply for compensation.

In 2001 and 2002, Shell Bronze gas contained an additive that was clogging up fuel systems in some newer model vehicles.

Hundreds of drivers across Canada had to replace fuel pumps and fuel gauges or have their gas tanks and gas lines cleaned out.

Shell admitted the problem and agreed to pay for some of the repairs at the time but two car owners in Ontario and B.C. filed a class action lawsuit for more money. read more

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