Daily Telegraph: Cairn storms on after Indian field breaches forecasts

“Cairn has now found 2.5billion barrels of oil – 1.7billion of which have already been verified by independent consultant DeGolyer & MacNaughton – since January last year.”: “The company has drilled 100 wells – 12 of which have struck black gold – on a field the same size as 12 North Sea blocks. Cairn bought the prospect from Shell for just $7.25m (£4m) in 2002.”

Wednesday 21 Sept 2005

By Christopher Hope, Business Correspondent (Filed: 21/09/2005)

Cairn Energy’s shares gushed through £20 yesterday after the Scottish oil explorer boosted forecast daily production from its key Indian field again and said it was confident of finding more oil there.

Bill Gammell, chief executive, also moved to reassure investors concerned that the Indian government might step into take a bigger chunk of the field in Rajasthan, north-west India.

Cairn said its daily production would be “in excess of 150,000bpd” from the fields, ahead of the previous range of 120,000bpd to 150,000bpd and more than double the 60,000bpd forecast this time last year. read more

Daily Mail: Shell’s pain is Cairn Energy’s gain

“Canny Scottish operator Cairn bought the Indian fields three years ago for just £4m – from Shell.”

Wednesday 21 Sept 2005

By Ruth Sunderland

SHELL has been forced into a climb down following a row with 400 rebel private investors over the unification of its British and Dutch arms.

The dissident small shareholders had refused an offer from Shell to sell their shares in its former Dutch parent company because it would have landed them with 40pc capital gains tax bills.

The company will now offer a loan note to the rebels which can be exchanged for new shares -therefore avoiding a tax charge.

The UK side of Shell was united with its Netherlands counterpart this summer in a bid to improve transparency in the wake of last year’s oil reserves scandal. read more

FROM OUR AUGUST 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL ROBBERS AND RASCALS

“…Shell shareholders have to foot the bill for lawyers fees run up in the course of defending fat cat crooks, such as Sir Phillip Watts, the disgraced former Group Chairman of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. Sir Phillip ended up with a $18 million USD pension pot AND with all his ongoing legal fees being paid by Shell shareholders. This was after he had LIED AND COVERED UP THE TRUTH ABOUT SHELL’S RESERVES, AND IN THE PROCESS, DESTROYED SHELL’S REPUTATION”

By Alfred Donovan: Monday 12 Sept 2005

The press is having a field day in devising colourful headlines about the scandal ridden Royal Dutch Shell Group. An article in “The Sunday Times” yesterday had a story under the headline: “Shell move robs UK investors”. It reported on the horrendous tax implications for UK Royal Dutch shareholders resulting from the recent Royal Dutch/Shell unification and the dubious way in which Shell has dealt with the controversy thus far.

Yesterdays “Independent on Sunday” used the term “Clever Rascals” about Shell in a headline relating to the Sakhalin project in Russia and the potential ramifications in respect of the critically endangered western grey whale. For the record, the Encarta Online Dictionary definition of a “rascal” is: “dishonest person: somebody, especially a man, who is dishonest or otherwise unethical”. read more

Royal Dutch Shell News Thursday, 7 April 2005

Houston Chronicle: Shell is hoping to book disputed reserves again: Fields off coast of Australia had been overstated: “Shell, based in London and the Hague, last month said its oil and gas reserves as of 2002 were overstated by 41 percent, the culmination of five cuts that led to investor lawsuits, the loss of three senior executives and more than $150 million of fines. The Justice Department is conducting a criminal inquiry.” (ShellNews.net) 7 April 05

BLOOMBERG: Shell Abandons Argentine Gasoline Price Increase (Update1): “The Royal Dutch Shell Group, Europe’s second-largest oil company, scrapped a price increase at more than 900 gas stations in Argentina after President Nestor Kirchner’s call for a boycott on the company drove down sales as much as 60 percent.” (ShellNews.net) 7 April 05 read more

Shell News Thursday, 20 January 2005

DAILY MAIL (UK): City & Finance: Shell to recruit 1,000 engineers: “SHELL is recruiting 1,000 more engineers to beef up the business at the centre of lasts year’s reserves scandal.” (ShellNews.net) Posted 20 Jan 05

FINANCIAL TIMES: BP aims to abandon share option incentives: “…Royal Dutch/ Shell has requested a meeting with City investors to discuss the introduction of new remuneration policies. The size of executive bonuses used to be partially linked to the level of the company’s reserves but that pay scheme was abandoned last year following the embarrassing downgrades of its oil and gas stocks.” (ShellNews.net) 20 Jan 05 read more

Shell News Monday, 17 January 2005

Houston Chronicle: Shell Oil awaits a new leader: U.S. chairman will seek to rebuild company’s image: “As part of the Royal Dutch-Shell Group of Companies’ continued management shuffle, it is installing a new U.S. country chairman, John Hofmeister…”: “widely credited with hiring Judy Boynton, the former chief financial officer who was tainted in the reserves accounting scandal that inflated Shell’s oil and natural gas assets. She was finally dropped this month, albeit with a $1 million severance package. Boynton joined Shell in 2001 after leaving as vice president of Polaroid. A few months later, Polaroid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and angry shareholders accused her of manipulating the company’s finances to appear better than they actually were.” (ShellNews.net) Posted 17 Jan 05 read more

Shell News Archive Saturday 18 December, 2004

PRNewswire: STARZ Buying Club Celebrates First Anniversary; Shell-Branded Retail Outlets Enjoy Savings and Efficiencies From Program (ShellNews.net) Posted 18 Dec 04

TMCnet.com: ESRI Reaches Groundbreaking Agreement with Shell (ShellNews.net) Posted 18 Dec 04

The Independent (UK): Cairn shares crash after setback in Rajasthan: “Cairn has enjoyed a meteoric rise since it acquired the Rajasthan exploration rights from Shell for just pounds 7.5m two years ago.” (ShellNews.net) 18 Dec 04 read more

The Times: Business Editor’s Commentary: Entrepreneurs need vision, determination and bravery as do large companies if they are to prosper. Bill Gammell has all those qualities. He also has a very lucrative oilfield in India, which Shell decided to abandon. Sir Philip Watts would not have qualified for the first round of the Entrepreneur of the Year contest but Shell’s structure did not nurture genuine entrepreneurs.

By Patience Wheatcroft

October 05, 2004

BUSINESSES need to nurture the entrepreneurial spirit from which they sprang.

Last night, t a glitteirng dinner, the individual named Entrepreneur of the Year in the Ernst & Young search which is sponsored by The Times was the chief executive of a FTSE 100 company, Cairn Energy.

Entrepreneurs need vision, determination and bravery as do large companies if they are to prosper. Bill Gammell has all those qualities. He also has a very lucrative oilfield in India, which Shell decided to abandon. read more

FROM OUR SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE SEPT 2004

The Independent: Michael Harrison’s Outlook: Shell supertanker steers into deeper waters

“brotherly love has been notable for its complete absence inside the South Bank politburo, where the motto has been stab someone in the back before you are made to walk the plank yourself.”: Judging by the reaction in the City to the company’s strategic review, investors are not overflowing with the milk of human kindness either.”

Posted 24 September 2004

“Let brotherly love continue”, read the gilded inscription above the doorway of the livery hall where Shell yesterday unveiled its latest version of what passes for a strategy. Chance would be a fine thing. Far from continuing, brotherly love has been notable for its complete absence inside the South Bank politburo, where the motto has been stab someone in the back before you are made to walk the plank yourself.

Judging by the reaction in the City to the company’s strategic review, investors are not overflowing with the milk of human kindness either. The truth is that Shell will not begin to emerge from the black cloud which enveloped it in January until it has fundamentally changed the way the business is run and governed. That is still some months away and no amount of management gobbledegook about raising performance bars and the like, of which there was plenty on offer yesterday, will make much of a difference in the meantime. read more

The Times: COMMENT: Well, well, well: “Shell has made six “significant finds” since the start of last year and they might have been involved in more had it not, famously, sold for a pittance its stake in the fruitful Mangala field in India to Cairn.”: “…Shell’s great lucky break was that its annus horribilis has coincided with the strongest oil market for more than 20 years.

Posted 24 September 2004

Favoured by a lucky break, Shell has prioritised discovering new reserves. As well it might. By Mike Verdin

The world of the oil giants is a real zoo. Just look at Shell, which has suffered a beastly few months.

First the company dropped a mammoth clanger. Then it ditched its top dog. Now the oil giant has put out an order for big cats.

Since January, Shell has ditched 20 per cent of proven stocks, and axed its chairman, Philip Watts. Now the big cats hold the solution to the company’s reserves problems. read more

The Age (Australia): Shell spends big to recoup ‘lost’ oil

“Managing director of exploration and production Malcolm Brinded admitted that Shell’s reserve replacement rate would only be 100 per cent over the next five years – less if the “lost” barrels were excluded.”

By Christopher Hope

London

September 24, 2004

Shell has pledged to spend more cash on finding oil and gas over the next three years as the world’s No.3 oil company admitted that its production was likely to be flat until 2009.

Shell also said it would sell $US10 billion to $US12 billion ($A14-$A17 billion) of non-core assets as part of an “urgent need” to restore its position after “losing” 4.4 billion barrels of proven oil and gas this year.

Unveiling Shell’s strategy for the next three years, Jeroen van der Veer, chairman of the committee of managing directors, admitted that production “is expected to grow to between 3.8 million and 4 million barrels per day by 2009”, well behind where rival BP is likely to be. Shell’s output last year was 3.9 million barrels a day. read more

Daily Telegraph: We’ll be running to stand still until 2009, says Shell

“…Mr Van der Veer was dismissive of suggestions it might merge with French giant Total. He said: “The fact that [that story] can get legs shows that our reputation is not where we want it to be.”: “Shell was embarrassed about selling a field in North India to oil minnow Cairn Energy for a few million dollars which later yielded hundreds of millions of barrels of oil, he said.”

By Christopher Hope, Business Correspondent (Filed: 23/09/2004)

Shell pledged yesterday to spend more cash on finding oil and gas over the next three years as the world’s third largest oil company admitted that its production was likely to be flat between now and 2009.

Shell also said it would sell off $10 billion to $12 billion of non-core assets as part of an “urgent need” to restore its position after “losing” 4.4 billion barrels of proven oil and gas earlier this year. read more

Independent On Sunday: Shell weighs multi-billion share buyback to win over investors

“Shell, the tarnished oil giant…”

By Tim Webb

19 September 2004

Shell, the tarnished oil giant, is considering buying back billions of pounds’ worth of its shares in a bid to restore investor confidence.

The news comes as new chairman Jeroen van der Veer prepares to convince the City this week that he can turn the company around as he unveils his delayed annual strategy presentation.

The Dutchman will announce a wide-ranging review of Shell’s oil exploration and production business in a bid to reverse lagging output and reserves figures. read more

Scotland On Sunday: Eyes on Shell again as new boss tries to fight back

“…Cairn Energy – the Edinburgh firm which looks set to rake in bucketloads of cash from Indian assets it bought for a song from Shell – officially begins trading on the FTSE100 tomorrow.”

IAIN DEY

19 Sept 04

SHELL is set to find itself the centre of the market’s attention yet again this week as it unveils the findings of its strategic review.

The oil giant’s new chairman, Jeroen van der Veer, and his head of exploration, Malcolm Brinded, will try to draw a line under the reserves reporting scandal which hammered its shares earlier in the year.

But investors are expected to have to wait until November to hear details of any changes to its baroque corporate structure – which remains the biggest issue for the City. read more

The Business: Buccaneer who struck black gold

“Two years ago, Cairn bought out Shell completely for £4m and kept drilling.”: “Cairn kept going where the mighty Shell gave up”: “Cairn has a market capitalisation of £2bn, compared with £6m when Gammell founded the company in 1980.”

12 Sept 04

The former Scottish rugby star who founded Cairn Energy is now in the scrum with oil giants

NOW here’s a question. Which British businessman is a close friend of Tony Blair and President Bush? Here’s a clue. Blair opened his company’s new head office in Edinburgh, and Bush, as a young boy, used to holiday on the family’s Scottish farm. Time’s up.

It’s Bill Gammell, founder and chairman of Cairn Energy, the new hotshot of the oil industry. It is said that when the oil markets descend into crisis – as they have recently- Blair and Bush ring Gammell’s office, with its glorious views of Edinburgh Castle, where labouring inside is the tall, thin figure of Gammell, a former Scotland rugby international. read more

ThisIsMoney.com: Special report: King at Cairn: It’s the tale of David and Goliath, the fleet-footed, smart Cairn against the lumbering, floundering Shell…”: “…he has to say only one word to his critics who want him to play this more cautious, stay-at-home, game. The word is Shell.”

Chris Blackhurst, City Editor, Evening Standard

Posted 10 September 2004

HERE’S a point in the life of any stock market star when they leave the City and enter the pub or golf club bar. It’s when they cease to be a hot topic for a select few in the Square Mile and start to attract wider interest.

These things have a momentum of their own. One or two savvy specialists get in there first, the company continues to prosper, the shares climb, the institutions* take an interest, the price lifts, the wider City audience clambers aboard, the stock keeps on going, then anyone with money to invest decides to have a dabble. read more

The Independent: Cairn caps FTSE 100 entry with oil find

“Mr Gammell refused to comment on Shell’s decision to sell the exploration block to Cairn for a pittance,…”

By Michael Harrison, Business Editor

08 September 2004

Cairn Energy, the independent oil exploration group, yesterday celebrated its entry into the FTSE 100 index of leading companies by reporting its fifth oil discovery this year in the north-west Indian region of Rajasthan and announcing that the field could contain up to 1.2 billion barrels of recoverable reserves.

The upbeat news was not enough to prevent Cairn shares slipping slightly as investors expressed mild disappointment that the company had not announced another blockbuster find. However, despite the 2.5 per cent dip in its price, Cairn still eased its way into the blue-chip index with a market valuation of £2.28bn, displacing Bradford & Bingley. read more

Scotsman.com: Cairn Energy Powers into FTSE 100

“Cairn has seen its shares more than triple since January when it announced the first of 10 finds in India on an oil field purchased from Shell for £4 million in 2002. The company is now valued at more than £2 billion.”

By David Winning, City Staff, PA News

The meteoric rise of oil and gas group Cairn Energy continued today as its place among the UK’s top 100 firms was confirmed.

The Edinburgh-based group joins larger rivals Shell and BP in the FTSE 100 Index at the expense of banking group Bradford & Bingley following a review of membership of the Footsie.

Cairn has seen its shares more than triple since January when it announced the first of 10 finds in India on an oil field purchased from Shell for £4 million in 2002. The company is now valued at more than £2 billion. read more

The Times: Cairn waits for green light on Mangala

“Approval by the Government would enable Cairn to start developing Mangala to extract up to 100,000 barrels of oil a day from the Rajasthan desert bloc it bought off Shell two years ago.”

By Peter Klinger

September 08, 2004

CAIRN ENERGY, the Edinburgh oil and gas company, said yesterday that it was confident India’s Government would give the go-ahead to turn its Mangala discovery into a significant oil-producing asset before the end of the year.

Approval by the Government would enable Cairn to start developing Mangala to extract up to 100,000 barrels of oil a day from the Rajasthan desert bloc it bought off Shell two years ago.

Cairn has estimated that the development cost of the Mangala discovery would be about $500 million (£280 million). read more

Daily Telegraph: Modest Scot who has hit the jackpot

“Seven years ago he invested in an overlooked Rajasthan field, buying the last 50pc from Shell for $7.5m in 2002. By last December, Cairn had spent $100m on drilling. Then in January, it struck black gold.”

(Filed: 08/09/2004)

It’s been a year to remember for Bill Gammell, chief executive of Cairn Energy, who has seen the company he founded 24 years ago in Edinburgh quadruple in value in the 12 months to £2.3 billion.

The 51-year-old started Cairn Energy Management with a friend in 1980 and floated the renamed firm in 1989. Seven years ago he invested in an overlooked Rajasthan field, buying the last 50pc from Shell for $7.5m in 2002. By last December, Cairn had spent $100m on drilling. Then in January, it struck black gold. read more

The Guardian: Rajasthan oil takes Cairn into FTSE 100

“Cairn was also able to announce another drilling success in Rajasthan, with a fifth oil discovery near Mangala, which it bought for a song from Shell.”

Doubts remain over field’s potential output

Terry Macalister

Wednesday September 8, 2004

Cairn Energy, the Edinburgh oil and gas group, yesterday became one of Britain’s top 100 companies, despite announcing a 40% slump in half-year profits and facing questions over its key oil discovery in India.

Shares in the company have soared since January when it found the massive Mangala field in Rajasthan. It took its place in the FTSE 100 yesterday at the expense of the building society, Bradford & Bingley. read more

The Guardian: Notebook: Time to grow up

This is the firm that snatched an exploration licence for the Indian state of Rajasthan from Shell for the comical price of £10m – just before Shell owned up to its serial over-statement of its reserves. Cairn proceeded to make a string of discoveries…”

8 Sept 04

In these days of heady oil prices, it was strange to see an oil company reporting a 40% slump in half-time profits yesterday. But then Cairn Energy is not a normal company – or at least Cairn has enjoyed a rather abnormal year.

This is the firm that snatched an exploration licence for the Indian state of Rajasthan from Shell for the comical price of £10m – just before Shell owned up to its serial over-statement of its reserves. Cairn proceeded to make a string of discoveries in Rajasthan and seems to have identified up to 400m barrels of recoverable crude in a field that may contain 2bn barrels. read more

The Independent: Market Report

“Cairn bought control of an oilfield in Rajasthan, India, from Shell in 2002. The amazing success of this asset forms the basis of Cairn’s £2.4bn market capitalisation. The group paid Shell just £4m for control of the field.”

Michael Jivkov

07 September 2004

A half-hearted performance by Schroders yesterday means that shares in the fund management giant are likely to exit the FTSE 100 in tomorrow’s reshuffle of the blue chip index. Schroders managed a rise of just 7.5p to 648p, valuing the group at £1.8bn, and it is now virtually certain of being relegated in the latest quarterly review by FTSE of its indices.

In its place will come Cairn Energy, steady at 1,474p, as the oil explorer makes its debut in the top flight after a near-fourfold rise in the company’s stock this year. It will take its place alongside rival Shell, which it partly has to thank for the success. Cairn bought control of an oilfield in Rajasthan, India, from Shell in 2002. The amazing success of this asset forms the basis of Cairn’s £2.4bn market capitalisation. The group paid Shell just £4m for control of the field. read more

The Times: Discoveries push £2.4bn Cairn into FTSE 100

“…it will also seal the humiliation of an already shamed Shell”

By Nick Hasell

September 06, 2004

CAIRN Energy is set to secure a place in the FTSE 100 for the first time in this week’s quarterly index reshuffle after four significant oil discoveries in India this year triggered a near-fourfold rise in its shares.

Elevation to the benchmark index will mark a triumph for Bill Gammell, chief executive of the Scottish oil and gas explorer, who boasts a close friendship with US President George Bush and a school acquaintance with Tony Blair. But it will also seal the humiliation of an already shamed Shell, which originally owned 50 per cent of the strike-rich property in Rajasthan that is the basis of Cairn’s current £2.4 billion stock market valuation. read more

Sunday Telegraph: Cairn’s Indian oil find comes in at the top end of City forecasts

“Investors have become concerned about reserves bookings in the wake of the debacle at Royal Dutch/Shell. The Anglo-Dutch oil giant shocked the market in January by revealing it had overbooked its reserves by 25 per cent.”

By Sylvia Pfeifer (Filed: 05/09/2004)

Cairn Energy will this week delight the City by revealing that reserves at its giant oil field in India are at the top end of forecasts.

An external audit report is understood to have concluded that the giant “Mangala” field in Rajasthan, northern India, holds close to 1.1bn barrels of oil.

The report says the field is likely to yield close to 275m barrels of oil – at the upper end of the previously estimated range of “recoverable” reserves of 100m to 275m barrels. read more

Financial Times: Buoyant E&P sector

“Shell has a particular problem at the moment. It is running out of oil in the ground and has lost a chairman and faced public humiliation following surprise cuts in its oil reserve estimates earlier this year.”

Posted 28 August 04

From Antrim Energy, through Cairn Energy and Paladin Resources, to Tullow Oil and Venture Production, the 20 oil and gas exploration and production companies that represent about 97 per cent of the sector by capitalisation have increased in value by an average of about 70 per cent this year.

And the superlatives do not stop there. Canaccord Capital analyst Charlie Sharp points out that the E&P (exploration and production) index has outperformed the FTSE All-Share consistently over the past five years. read more

The Scotsman: Cairn to debate India sale

“In Bangladesh, we’ve recently taken over the operatorship of assets from Shell.”

JAMES DOW

Posted 22 August 04

CAIRN Energy could sell off its massive oil interests in west India and will debate its options once further tests in the area have been wrapped up, the company’s chairman has told The Scotsman.

Norman Murray said the Edinburgh explorer is keeping an “open mind” on the future of its Rajasthan operations in the west Indian subcontinent. He said a decision will be made once an ongoing assessment programme has revealed the true scale of the discovery and the operational demands it would place on the company. read more

Daily Telegraph: Consultants check Cairn oil reserves

“pressure from investors to ensure that the reserves estimate presented to the City is watertight in the wake of the Shell debacle.”

By Christopher Hope, Business Correspondent (Filed: 19/08/2004)

Cairn Energy has hired a respected independent US oil reserves consultant to double-check the size of its four oil finds in Rajasthan, northern India.

The Scottish oil explorer feels the move is necessary to reassure investors after Shell shocked the market by downgrading its “proven” reserves tally by 23pc earlier this year.

Cairn has been a stock market sensation this year after its share price more than trebled following its Indian discoveries and it is now poised to enter the FTSE 100 early next month. read more

Daily Telegraph: After Shell, experts have Cairn over a barrel

“Watching the lawyers circling over Shell, the Cairn directors probably think that whatever DeGolyer charges, they’ve got a bargain.”

19 August 04

Consultants check Cairn oil reserves

It’s unlikely that DeGolyer and MacNaughton will discover anything very surprising when they pick over the records at Cairn Energy, the luckiest oil company of 2004. That’s not really why the firm (“Knowledge, Integrity, Service”, says its website pompously) has been brought in.

Cairn found oil in such quantities in Rajasthan that its interest in a single block has propelled the company to almost certain membership of the FTSE100 index at next month’s redetermination. Nobody seriously doubts that the oil is there, but after Shell’s shocker with its reserves, Cairn has sensibly gone for one of the best names in the business to check its drilling results. read more

Daily Telegraph: Cairn oil bonanza nets chiefs £4m bonus

“Cairn’s finds in India are a source of continued embarrassment to Shell, which sold its 50pc share in the concession to Cairn for just $7.25m.”

By Christopher Hope, Business Correspondent (Filed: 16/08/2004)

Cairn Energy, the Scottish oil explorer, will take a charge of more than £4m at its half-year results in three weeks’ time to cover the cost of paying out long-term bonuses to its management.

Cairn has been one of the biggest risers on the stock market this year after discovering 1.85billion barrels of oil in northern India. Last week the shares jumped 13pc after Cairn found oil for the fourth time.

Kevin Hart, finance director, told analysts last week that the cost of paying directors’ bonuses under its long-term incentive plan, which is linked to Cairn’s share price, was likely to be £4.3m for the six months to June 30. read more

The Scotsman: Oil bonanza for man who took on Shell and won

JAMES DOW

17 Aug 2004

WHEN Bill Gammell stepped forward to accept the gong for Scottish Entrepreneur of the Year a few weeks ago, he turned to the assembled high-fliers and made a typically self-deprecating remark.

“I am only fortunate to be the leader of the team,” the chief executive said. “Winning this is a terrific recognition for the outstanding people at Cairn Energy.”

As a former Scotland rugby international, he knows plenty about being a team player, but his individual achievements are increasingly being recognised beyond the realm of his peers. read more

Shell News Tuesday 20 January, 2004 

Houston Chronicle: Shell’s strategy led firm into decline, brokers say

Houston Chronicle: Chairman defends action on reserves

Financial Times: Shell shocked as reject field strikes it rich

The Times: Red faces at Shell as Cairn hits black gold

The Guardian: Cairn strikes it rich on land Shell sold

London Evening Standard: Shell shock spurs City meeting

Shell News Monday 19 January, 2004 

The Daily Telegraph: Shell shareholders demand change after bombshell 

Financial Times: Shell suffers another blow to its pride

London Evening Standard:  Cairn oil find blow for Shell boss