Mon Jun 12, 2006 2:49pm ET
NEW YORK, June 12 (Reuters) – Moody’s Investors Service on Monday changed its outlook on Royal Dutch Shell Plc. (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) to stable from negative, citing the company’s progress in addressing governance issues regarding its oil booking practices.
Moody’s had maintained a negative outlook on the ratings since February 2005, when the company announced a second round of some 1.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent reserve de-bookings after an intensive internal and external review of its reserve base and booking practices, the ratings agency said in a statement.
“The stabilization of the rating outlook reflects Shell’s progress in addressing governance and reserve oversight issues and in identifying a path for reserve and production growth in the medium-term,” Moody’s said.
Shell completed the unification of its two former public group companies under the new Royal Dutch Shell PLC holding company in late 2005, putting in place a unified board and clear reporting lines to the chief executive, Moody’s said.
The company also streamlined and centralized the reserve review process and trained its staff world wide to comply with guidelines by the Securities and Exchange Commission on reserve booking practices, Moody’s said.
Moody’s rates Shell’s issuer rating “Aa1,” its second highest ranking. A stable outlook indicates the debt is less likely to be lowered over the next 12-to-18 months.
“The stable outlook recognizes that Shell continues to lag its strongest rated integrated peer companies in key upstream metrics such as reserve replacement, reserve life index, and unit cost structure elements including unit finding and development costs,” Moody’s said.
“Sustained improvement in these measures will take a number of years to achieve, given the scale of Shell’s fundamental reserve replacement challenge in an increasingly competitive environment for conventional upstream resources and industry cost pressures,” Moody’s said.
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Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
