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Shell News Friday, 4 February 2005

Feb 4th, 2005
by John Donovan.

Shell News Friday, 4 February 2005

Yahoo News!: Shell Denies Any Knowledge of Kickbacks: “The Royal Dutch/Shell Group denied Friday that it had any knowledge of kickbacks paid by a Geneva-based middleman it used to buy oil from Iraq (news – web sites) under the U.N. oil-for-food program” (ShellNews.net) 4 Feb 05

Houston Business Journal: Royal Dutch/Shell suffers credit downgrade: “Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said Friday it has lowered Royal Dutch/Shell’s corporate credit ratings to ‘AA’ from ‘AA+.’”: “S&P estimates that Shell’s proven reserves amounted to only some 12 billion barrels, or about 8.5 years of production, at the end of 2004, a level S&P said is “significantly below that of most oil companies globally.” (ShellNews.net) 4 Feb 05

FINANCIAL TIMES: Shell in further reserve cut: “Royal Dutch/Shell has cut its proved oil and gas reserves by another 10 per cent and warned that it was still struggling to replace the oil and gas it extracted from the ground.”: “…several analysts were angry at the scale of the latest cuts. Neil McMahon at Sandford Bernstein said: “These results make for sorry reading and there is absolutely no sign of a recovery story under way for Shell.” (ShellNews.net) 4 Feb 05

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Shell Makes Another Cut in Reserves; Profit Jumps: “The Royal Dutch/Shell Group reduced its proven oil and gas reserves by an additional 10 percent on Thursday, rattling investors yet again and increasing speculation that the company will ultimately have to buy a better-performing rival to compete with peers like Exxon Mobil and BP” (ShellNews.net) 4 Feb 05

FINANCIAL TIMES: Shell needs something in reserve: “…the company is in difficulty – even though its downstream refining, marketing and chemicals businesses performed well last year”: “… analysts are scathing about the latest reserves cut and the culpability of the current management team, which has been in place for almost a year.” (ShellNews.net) 4 Feb 05

The Guardian (UK): Record Shell profit spurs windfall tax calls: Consumer groups attack ‘obscene’ £9.4bn record (ShellNews.net 4 Feb 05

The Guardian (UK): Shell suffers fifth cut in reserves: Earnings record masks losing battle to replace resources: “Fadel Gheit, oil analyst with Oppenheimer & Co in New York, said he was “very disappointed” with the downgrade and poor reserve replacement. “I cannot remember in my 25 years of covering this sector any oil company failing to replace its reserves three years in a row like Shell has done. “It is also disturbing that Shell seems able to (continually) revise downwards its reserves figures as though it is nothing unusual.”: “”The real fact is that the underlying fundamentals [at Shell] are deteriorating,” said Mr Gheit.” (ShellNews.net) 4 Feb 05

The Independent: OUT LOOK: Higher oil prices rescue beleaguered Shell: “Time for a crack-down. Slap on a windfall profit tax, regulate prices and throw the entire board in jail”: “Without the ever advancing oil price, Shell would be deep in crisis right now. As it is, things are bad enough when you take a look beneath the bonnet of record profitability.” (ShellNews.net) 4 Feb 04

The Independent (UK): Shell slammed over record profit: “…investors also expressed concern after the Anglo-Dutch company had cut its estimate of proven reserves by another 1.4 billion barrels or 10 per cent – the fifth downgrade in the past 13 months”: “The Shell chairman, Jeroen van der Veer, refused to rule out yet another reserves downgrade until the company’s figures had been vetted by external consultants and approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Nor would he comment on whether it would be a resignation matter if reserves were slashed further, saying only: “I believe in the concept of accountability.” (ShellNews.net) 4 Feb 05

Reuters: Shell posts record profit: “Royal Dutch/Shell Group has revived concerns about its oil reserves by making another big reserves cut and reporting disappointing results in finding new oil supplies in 2004. The news overshadowed the biggest profit in UK corporate history and plans for higher dividends and share buy-backs” (ShellNews.net) Posted 4 February 05

Lloyds List: Record Shell profits soured by new reserve cuts: “The Anglo-Dutch oil major said it would pay up to $10bn to shareholders in dividends and has relaunched a $3bn-$5bn share buy-back programme. But it has again restated booked hydrocarbon reserves for 2003 by 1.4bn barrels of oil equivalent, down to 12.95bn boe, after completing an internal audit.” (ShellNews.net) 4 Feb 05

THE LONDON TIMES: Shell in £8bn payout amid reserves cut: “…yesterday admitted that it had found barely enough oil to replenish half the barrels that it pumped last year” (ShellNews.net) 4 Feb 05

LONDON EVENING STANDARD: CITY SPY: “I AM NOT PROUD OF THESE RESULTS” (ShellNews.net) Posted 4 Feb 05

msnbc: Shell cuts oil reserves again: “The Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Cos. more than doubled its fourth-quarter net income on the back of soaring oil and gas prices, but the strong results were tempered by the company’s announcement Thursday that it is cutting oil reserves for the fifth time in just over a year.” (ShellNews.net) Posted 4 Feb 05

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Shell Unveils Record 04 Pft But Cuts Reserves: “Royal Dutch/Shell Group Thursday reported the largest-ever U.K. corporate profit thanks to high oil prices, but also announced a new, sharp cut in its oil and gas reserves.” (ShellNews.net) Posted 4 Feb 05

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Posted in: Gas, Oil, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell Oil Reserves Scandal.

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