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Thursday, 03 September 2009: 20.50 GMT
Wire reports
Supermajor Shell long-term credit rating was cut to AA from AA+ by Standard & Poors Ratings Services, which cited the prospect of rising debt.
S&P also affirmed its rating on Eni and Total, while revising its outlook on both to negative from stable.
It affirmed its AA rating on BP with stable outlook.
Capital expenditure- and dividend-driven pressures on free-cash flow contributed to all the rating decisions, S&P said in a Bloomberg report.
For Shell in particular, we expect these pressures to lead to sizable further rises in debt in 2009 and 2010, albeit from a very low initial level.
In the case of Shell and Total, their slightly less conservative leverage policies, including shareholder distributions, coupled with our expectation of a prolonged refining downturn, also contributed to the downgrade and outlook revision respectively, S&P said.
The AA rating is the third notch on S&Ps 10-level ranking of investment-grade debt.
S&P said Shells debt net of all reported cash could exceed $35 billion by the end of next year, up from $19.5 billion in June this year and compared with a low of $8 billion at the end of last year.
S&P also cited Shells weaker-than-expected upstream production growth overall since 2003, including in first half 2009 as contributing to its downgrade.
New Shell boss Peter Voser took the helm of Europes largest oil company on 1 July, replacing Jeroen van der Veer and initiating a reorganisation that is cutting costs and jobs.
The company has announced plans to merge the exploration and production, gas and power, and oil sands units along geographical lines.
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.
