By Steve Hawkes
19 January 2004
SHELL chairman Sir Philip Watts was left with more egg on his face today after a little-known UK firm made one of the biggest ever oil discoveries in India on land sold off by the supermajor for £4m two years ago.
Cairn Energy’s shares leapt 148 1/4p to 518 1/4p as it revealed an exploration well in the Rajasthan basin, western India, had struck reserves estimated to hold up to 200m barrels of recoverable crude. Analysts valued the discovery at more than $400m (£222m).
The find doubles Cairn’s total reserve base, and chief executive Bill Gammell said it justified the group’s faith in the area. ‘We just feel this region has been overlooked by the majors,’ he said.
The size of the discovery is smaller than typically interests a supermajor but with new fields becoming increasingly hard to find it is likely to be another blow to Watts as he fights for his job at Shell.
Some of Shell’s biggest investors have called for change after the group’s humiliating downgrade of 20% of its proven oil and gas reserves – 3.9bn barrels – which stunned the City 10 days ago.
Cairn bought into the Rajasthan block in 1998 by taking a 10% share in the licence held by Shell. After upping its interest to 50%, it paid just $7.25m for full control in 2002.
Once the find is declared commercial, India’s State-owned oil firm ONGC will take a 30% stake. Separate reports today said the Indian government is preparing to sell 10% of the group to raise $2.5bn.
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 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.
