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Shell pays $90m to settle class action

Times Online: Shell pays $90m to settle class action

“Shell still faces two other class action claims. One is a shareholder class action that has been consolidated in a New Jersey court. It is believed this claim asserts that share-based savings schemes suffered losses of more than £1 billion. Shell declined to comment on this case this morning. The other action is a derivative claim. Shell said that it was in settlement discussion over this claim but that it would be premature to comment any further.”

Wednesday July 13, 2005

By Miles Costello

Royal Dutch Shell, the oil giant, has agreed to pay more than $90 million to settle one of three class action legal cases levelled against it following its shock overstatement of the level of its proven oil and gas reserves last year.

The proposed settlement – which still has to be ratified by the American courts – comes after Shell found out earlier this month that it would not face criminal charges in connection with the overstatement scandal.

Shell’s revelation last January that it had been exaggerating the level of its oil reserves for years sent its stock tumbling and cost the jobs of several of its senior executives, including the chairman, Philip Watts. read more

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BLOOMBERG: Shell Will Pay $90 Million to Settle U.S. Lawsuit

BLOOMBERG: Shell Will Pay $90 Million to Settle U.S. Lawsuit

“Royal Dutch/Shell Group, Europe’s second-largest oil company, agreed to pay about $90 million to settle a lawsuit brought by its U.S. employees after the company overstated its oil and gas reserves by 41 percent. The accord brings to about $240 million costs related to the overstatement, which led to lawsuits, criminal investigations and the ouster of Chief Executive Philip Watts (Update6)

Wednesday 13 July 2005

(Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch/Shell Group, Europe’s second-largest oil company, agreed to pay about $90 million to settle a lawsuit brought by its U.S. employees after the company overstated its oil and gas reserves by 41 percent.

The accord brings to about $240 million costs related to the overstatement, which led to lawsuits, criminal investigations and the ouster of Chief Executive Philip Watts. Insurance will cover $25 million of the settlement, Shell said in a statement today. read more

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The Guardian (UK): US drops Shell criminal action

The Guardian (UK): US drops Shell criminal action

Mark Milner and David Teather in New York

Friday July 1, 2005

Shell will not face criminal prosecution by federal authorities in the United States for overstating its oil and gas reserves, the company said yesterday.

It said the US department of justice had concluded its investigation and David Kelley, the attorney for the Southern District of New York, had announced that no further action would be taken.

Jeroen van der Veer, Shell’s chief executive, said the company appreciated Mr Kelley’s decision. “The conclusion of this investigation is a most important step towards putting the matter of reserves recategorisations behind us.” read more

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US prosecutors help Shell close chapter on reserves scandal

Daily Telegraph: US prosecutors help Shell close chapter on reserves scandal

Friday 1 July 2005

By Christopher Hope, Business Correspondent (Filed: 01/07/2005)

Shell will not face charges from United States prosecutors after the oil and gas giant admitted last year that it had over-exaggerated its proven reserves by a quarter.

However the US Department of Justice said it was “still evaluating” the case against individual directors involved.

The scandal resulted in the resignations of Sir Phil Watts, chairman and Walter van der Vijver, head of exploration and production. read more

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Shell looks to put scandal behind it with settlements

THE TIMES: Shell looks to put scandal behind it with settlements

Friday July 01, 2005

By Carl Mortished

SHELL is seeking to settle class action lawsuits brought against the company and its former directors after last year’s revelation that the company had overstated its proven oil and gas reserves.

Shell received a boost yesterday when the US Department of Justice said that it would not prosecute the company. “Criminal prosecution of Shell would not serve the public interest,” said David Kelley, US attorney for the southern district of New York.

Mr Kelley cited Shell’s cooperation with the inquiry, its remedial efforts and the payment of a $120 million (£67 million) fine to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. “The public interest has been sufficiently vindicated,” he said. read more

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The Guardian: Shell escapes charges over reserves reporting

The Guardian (UK): Shell escapes charges over reserves reporting

Mark Tran

Thursday June 30, 2005

Shell escaped criminal charges in the US today after a federal prosecutor decided that bringing the Anglo-Dutch oil giant to court over last year’s reserves scandal would not be in the public interest.

US lawyer David Kelley said yesterday that the world’s third-largest publicly traded oil company had cooperated with an investigation after admitting to an overstatement of its proven oil and natural gas reserves by 4.47bn barrels, or about 23%, from 1997 to 2002. read more

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The Guardian: Shell ready for acquisition trail

The Guardian: Shell ready for acquisition trail

Thursday June 23, 2005

By Terry Macalister

Shell chief executive Jeroen van der Veer yesterday raised expectations of a big acquisition to put the Anglo-Dutch oil group back on equal terms with BP and ExxonMobil.

Speaking at a press briefing about the advantages of now being able to launch a rights issue, he insisted “we have no specific target in mind” but pointed out that the last 100 years in the oil industry was a story of consolidation.

His remarks came as the prospect of a bidding war loomed last night for US oil group Unocal. China’s state-run oil firm CNOOC is preparing a counter-bid for the firm, upsetting an agreed offer of $18.2bn (£10bn) from America’s ChevronTexaco, sources close to the process told Reuters. A move would be the latest in a series of ambitious acquisitions by Chinese companies in the US and is bound to be closely scrutinised by American regulators. read more

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Fat cats are thinner by a whisker

“Finally it is worth mentioning some of the fat cats who prospered and departed this year, and who will no longer muddy their paws in our table. Top of these is Sir Philip Watts, latterly of Shell, whose pension pot expanded by another £2.6m last year to a total of £12.6m despite his leaving the company in March. That will net him £600,000 a year for life to go with his £1m golden goodbye. Another reward for failure went to…”

Daily Telegraph: Fat cats are thinner by a whisker:  Saturday 11 June 2005

(Filed: 11/06/2005)

Industry bosses netted below average pay rises last year, report David Cheesman and Malcolm Moore

Hiss! Has someone taken the bowl of cream away from Britain’s fat cats? According to the annual reports, the pay of our top 10 chief executives went up by a mangy 2.4pc last year.

This sort of skimmed milk emolument is enough to make Bustopher Jones’ tail droop.

Not only is the rise barely enough to cover the cost of inflation, it is far lower than the national average.

Our bosses are not skin and bones, of course. They still took home £30.3m last year. read more

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Shell focus switches to security

THE TIMES: Shell focus switches to security

7 July 2005

By Peter Klinger

SECURITY threats are to supplant technological advances as the key consideration driving strategy in Royal Dutch Shell over the next 20 years.

Jeroen van der Veer, chief executive of the Anglo-Dutch group, said that national security and trust in the marketplace were the key issues that needed to be addressed as part of planning to 2025.

He said: “Western societies now look to the state more than in recent decades to lead the restoration of physical security and market integrity. This brings into sharper focus the power of the state to regulate and to coerce, in a role involving both the direct intervention to fight terrorism and police the market, and a more general emphasis on transparency, disclosure and good governance.” read more

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The landslide bringing down Shell grandees

FROM OUR AUGUST 2004 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE

The Daily Telegraph: The landslide bringing down Shell grandees

The SEC and FSA reports, however, go back to the previous regime, when Sir Mark Moody-Stuart was chairman.”: Even Shell fell for the “group bonding” mumbo-jumbo, and he was videoed stumbling blindfold around head office during one such session, talking of his desire to “encourage the creativity of people” around him. He seems to have succeeded.”

(Filed: 28/08/2004)

The Securities & Exchange Commission has announced its intention to pin the reserves scandal on individuals, writes James Moore

The Shell Show, a tragicomedy in an unlimited number of parts, featured a powerful double act this week.

On Tuesday America’s Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Services Authority both gave the company a good kicking for wrongly booking billions of barrels of oil and gas reserves as “proven”.

Now Harold Degenhardt, the director of the Securities & Exchange Commission’s office in Fort Worth, Texas, is hard at work on the sequel. “What people need to focus on is that companies only act through people,” he says. read more

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London Evening Standard: Shell pays over reserves scandal

London Evening Standard: Shell pays over reserves scandal

“It still faces a host of multi-billion dollar class-action lawsuits and a US Department of Justice probe.”:

Steve Hawkes, Evening Standard

29 July 2004

TROUBLED oil giant Shell has agreed to fork out £83m in penalties to UK and US stock market regulators to settle the reserves crisis that cast a huge shadow over half-year results unveiled today.

Shell plans to pay £17m to the Financial Services Authority* and $120m (£66m) to the US Securities and Exchange Commission to ‘resolve’ investigations into whether it broke disclosure rules.

It still faces a host of multi-billion dollar class-action lawsuits and a US Department of Justice probe. read more

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Reuters: Shell pays fines for reserves woes

Reuters: Shell pays fines for reserves woes

“Royal Dutch/Shell will pay about $150 million (82 million pounds) in fines for an oil reserves scandal that tarnished its reputation”

“Shell’s profits looked reasonable, but concerns remain over future production.” Oriel Securities analyst Richard Rose

By Sudip Kar-Gupta

Thu 29 July, 2004 09:12

LONDON/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Royal Dutch/Shell will pay about $150 million (82 million pounds) in fines for an oil reserves scandal that tarnished its reputation, the group says after reporting higher second-quarter profits.

The world’s third-biggest oil group said on Thursday net profit adjusted for the current cost of supply was $3.768 billion in the quarter, up 16 percent from a year earlier, but below forecasts. The company said production was lower and would fall further. read more

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Financial Director: The incriminating 2002 Form 20F Sarbanes-Oxley certificates signed separately by Jeroen van der Veer, Sir Philip Watts and Judy Boynton.

Financial Director: The incriminating 2002 Form 20F Sarbanes-Oxley certificates signed separately by Jeroen van der Veer, Sir Philip Watts and Judy Boynton.

(Webmasters note: the following article first published by Financial Director in June is printed below because it contains the incriminating Form 20 F signed by Jeroen van der Veer, the Chairman of the Royal Dutch Shell Group.)

Financial Director: Stringing us along? “even its new ‘Mr. Clean’, Jeroen van der Veer, could all be forced onto centre stage in Wall Street’s first major Sarbanes-Oxley prosecution”

By Anthony Harrington [02-06-2004]

Posted 24 July 04

With an investigation into Shell’s “proven” oil reserves looming, Sarbanes-Oxley may well have caught its first major false accounting scandal. read more

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Houdini Watts: The Shell Game

MEL GIBSON: A POTENTIALLY GREAT NEW ROLE FOR THIS MOVIE SUPERSTAR?

WILL MEL SOON BE ASKED TO PLAY  THE JUICY ROLE OF A RUTHLESS CORPORATE *CROOK IN THE WORST BUSINESS SCANDAL IN HISTORY?

On BBC TV on 15th July 2004, the Shell oil and gas reserves scandal was described as the biggest corporate fraud in history. Investors had been swindled out of billions of dollars on an international basis. It therefore follows that Hollywood may soon be casting for a movie telling this incredible true story.

Under the disreputable leadership of Sir Philip Watts, the ambitious former Shell Chairman with a hard man image gained partly in **Nigeria, Shell’s oil reserves and reputation vanished, wiping several billion dollars off Shell’s share value early in 2004. Sir Philip then performed an extraordinary escape with a $2 million pay off, ending up with an $18 million pension for himself; an amazing trick by any standards. read more

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The Guardian: Nigerianisation: Shell’s solution for troubled delta

The Guardian: Nigerianisation: Shell’s solution for troubled delta

“The reserves scandal that led to Sir Philip’s removal in part related to Nigeria”

Terry Macalister

Wednesday July 21, 2004

Shell yesterday took a first step towards trying to rebuild its damaged credibility in Nigeria by becoming the first oil company to appoint a local to head its operations there.

Basil Omiyi becomes managing director of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, a job once held by the group’s disgraced former chairman, Sir Philip Watts.

The reserves scandal that led to Sir Philip’s removal in part related to Nigeria, where Shell is the biggest foreign operator. About 1.3bn barrels of the 3.9bn in overbooked reserves came from the west African state, which is plagued by civil unrest in the oil-rich Niger delta region. read more

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The Times: SHELL SHOCK: BBC Two, 9.50pm 15 July 2004

The Times: SHELL SHOCK: BBC Two, 9.50pm 15 July 2004

“I am becoming sick and tired,” he wrote, “of lying about the extent of our reserves.”

15 July 2004

A clear and merciless indictment of Shell, a company that prided itself on being a safe investment for widows and orphans.

In the late 1990s, BP and Exxon expanded through acquisition, leaving Shell lagging behind. Sir Philip Watts, head of exploration and production at the time, was determined to restore the company’s pre-eminence. Its proven reserves were exaggerated by 4.5 billion barrels.

When Sir Philip became chairman, his successor, Walter van de Vijver, was appalled and fired off numerous warnings. “I am becoming sick and tired,” he wrote, “of lying about the extent of our reserves.” read more

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BBC TV: Oil giant Shell’s investors shocked

BBC TV: Oil giant Shell’s investors shocked

“that’s fraud in the United States and the Justice Department will have a basis for criminally prosecuting the executives”

By Terry Messenger

BBC Money Programme

15 July 2004

Investors found they could not trust in Shell after all.

Peter Montagnon, head of investment affairs at the Association of British Insurers (ABI), is an unflappable man. But on 9 January this year, he was shocked. In his world, the unthinkable had happened.

In the City of London, Royal Dutch/Shell was seen as the safest of havens for money invested by insurance companies and pension funds – which typically belong to the ABI.

They invest money belonging to millions of ordinary people with small savings, pension plans and insurance policies. read more

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The Sunday Times: Business on the Box: Shell Shock.

The Sunday Times: Business on the Box: Shell Shock.

BBC 2. Thursday, 9.50pm. Reporters track down the oil giant’s ex-chairman, Sir Philip Watts, to quiz him over Shell’s reserves crisis.

July 11, 2004

Good Company, Bad Company. BBC 4. Monday, 8.30pm. Can big business be persuaded that being kind to the environment is good for the bottom line?

Ruby Does The Business. BBC 3. Monday, 9pm. Ruby Wax delves deep into the success of the Chrysalis Group.

Shell Shock. BBC 2. Thursday, 9.50pm. Reporters track down the oil giant’s ex-chairman, Sir Philip Watts, to quiz him over Shell’s reserves crisis. read more

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SHELL SHOCK: The Money Programme provides a clear and merciless indictment of Shell

The Times: SHELL SHOCK: The Money Programme provides a clear and merciless indictment of Shell, a company that prided itself on being a safe investment for widows and orphans

Television: Thursday, July 15 2004

BBC Two, 9.50pm on July 10, 2004

The Money Programme provides a clear and merciless indictment of Shell, a company that prided itself on being a safe investment for widows and orphans.

In the late 1990s, BP and Exxon expanded through acquisition, leaving Shell lagging behind. The then head of exploration and production, Sir Philip Watts, was determined to restore the company’s pre-eminence. Its proven reserves were exaggerated by 4.5 billion barrels. When Sir Philip became chairman, his successor, Walter van de Vijver, was appalled and fired off numerous warnings. “I am becoming sick and tired,” he wrote, “of lying about the extent of our reserves.” read more

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Shell director was told of reserve woes: ‘a Shakespearian drama’

Financial Times: Shell director was told of reserve woes: ‘a Shakespearian drama’

By Ian Bickerton in Amsterdam

Published: July 5 2004 17:59 | Last Updated: July 5 2004 17:59

Posted 6 July 04

The controversy over internal communications at Royal Dutch/Shell intensified after its most senior non-executive admitted it was “not easy” to corroborate information he received from the group’s directors.

The frank admission by Aad Jacobs fuels speculation about the prior knowledge of directors and officers before a crisis erupted about the state of the Anglo-Dutch company’s oil reserves. Mr Jacobs, chairman of the supervisory board of the group’s dominant Dutch arm last week told shareholders that Walter van der Vijver, then head of the exploration and production division, had mentioned “a problem with reserves” at a lunch last November. read more

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Shell shareholders fail to put foot down over vital reforms

THE BUSINESS: Shell shareholders fail to put foot down over vital reforms

“any sense Oxburgh hoped to give of the smooth functioning of the two-board system was undermined by the two chairman’s differing answers on when the company’s non-executive directors had known about the reserves problems.”

IT TURNED out to be an anti-climax. After predictions of investigator revolts at Shell’s twin annual meetings, directors got a smoother ride than expected. But the problems remain, especially Shell’s dual structure.

The company provided few concessions to shareholders – no more details on the circumstances behind the reserves downgrade and no proposals from the review of corporate governance that institutional investors have been demanding as the price for the scandal.

There were embarrassments at the meetings, of course. At The Hague, nearly 40% of Royal Dutch shareholders voted against a resolution of confidence in the directors. In London, nearly 10% voted against the company’s remuneration policy in protest at disgraced former chairman Sir Philip Watts’ £1.06m (E1.59m, $1.82m) payoff. read more

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The Independent: Private Investor: Why do institutional shareholders get special treatment?

The Independent: Private Investor: Why do institutional shareholders get special treatment? “the same disinformation for all”

By Sean O’Grady

03 July 2004

I regret to say that I did not turn up at the Shell annual general meeting on Monday. I do wish I had. It sounds like some of my fellow small shareholders made a spirited attempt to make the board explain what has been going on at the company lately. A Mr John Kennedy seems to have been a particularly impressive have-a-go hero. According to reports, he put this question to the board of directors: “I am quite sure you were in consultation with institutional shareholders, so why were private shareholders left out? I had to rely on the press!”. read more

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Shell to take £180m charge

The Times: Shell to take £180m charge

“The news is a further blow to the company’s embattled shareholders”

By Andrew Ellson,

July 01, 2004

Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil company, has announced its exploration and production business will take a charge to earnings of about $330 million (£180 million) after tax in the second quarter of this year.

The charge relates to the unsuccessful drilling and seismic studies of several exploration wells in the North Sea and off the coast of Ireland. Shell acquired these exploration rights with the purchase of Enterprise Oil in 2002.

The charge would not have not have an impact on the company’s proven reserves, Shell said in a statement. read more

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The Independent: Investors lambast Shell over ousted chairman’s £1m pay-off

The Independent: Investors lambast Shell over ousted chairman’s £1m pay-off

the £1.06m pay-off for Sir Philip Watts proved that, even under new leadership, the company was still living in “a parallel universe”

By Michael Harrison, Business Editor

29 June 2004

Shell received a mauling yesterday from shareholders over the “scandal” of the £1m pay-off for its disgraced former chairman, its “abject” environmental record and its cumbersome dual board structure.

Shareholders attending the annual meetings of the Anglo-Dutch oil giant in London and The Hague, tore into the company over the fiasco of last January’s reserves downgrade, linking it directly to the lack of accountability and transparency at board level. read more

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Investors snub Shell in vote on liability

The Times: Investors snub Shell in vote on liability

“Pointing to Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, a former chairman of Shell’s CMD who sits on the Shell Transport board, Mr Pal said: “When this scandal came up, Sir Mark was present. Why did he allow this departure from Shell’s business principles? He should resign from all his other directorships.”

By Carl Mortished, International Business Editor

June 29, 2004

SHELL’S directors yesterday suffered a humiliating rebuff in the Netherlands when investors in Royal Dutch Petroleum, representing almost 40 per cent of the Dutch holding company’s shares, voted against discharging the directors from liability.

The annual resolution to discharge managing directors and supervisory board directors is normally a formality at Royal Dutch meetings, but a number of Dutch pension funds yesterday took the chance to express anger over the misreporting of 4.5 billion barrels of oil and gas reserves. read more

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Toronto Star: Oil giant’s brass beg for pardon and time

Toronto Star: Oil giant’s brass beg for pardon and time: Contrition expressed at Royal Dutch/Shell: Reserve-booking fiasco stays at centre stage

Jun. 29, 2004.

LONDON—Royal Dutch/Shell Group’s top brass, chastened by this year’s reserves-booking fiasco, have begged shareholders for forgiveness and time to revamp the Anglo-Dutch oil giant.

At twin annual general meetings yesterday in The Hague and London, board members of the parent companies, Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. and Shell Transport & Trading Co., were pressed by both the usual coterie of individual shareholders and an uncommonly large number of institutional investors who have been chafing for structural change and greater openness from the oil giant. read more

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Shell chief ‘was told in advance’ of problems

Financial Times: Shell chief ‘was told in advance’ of problems

By FT reporters

Published: June 28 2004 12:25 | Last Updated: June 28 2004 13:25

The most senior non-executive director of Royal Dutch Petroleum, the larger arm of Royal Dutch/Shell, knew of an “imminent problem” with the booking of oil reserves two months before the company disclosed it publicly, it emerged on Tuesday.

The revelation, made at the annual meeting of Royal Dutch in the Netherlands by Aad Jacobs, chairman of the supervisory board, contrasted with comments made in London by Lord Oxburgh, chairman of Shell Transport & Trading. read more

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Testy Annual Meeting Focuses on Shell’s Scandal

The New York Times: Testy Annual Meeting Focuses on Shell’s Scandal

“A few of Shell’s top executives mislead shareholders and the financial world, he said. ”In the United States they’d have been taken away in handcuffs.”

By GREGORY CROUCH

Published: June 29, 2004

THE HAGUE, June 28 – At its first annual meeting since it became engulfed in an oil reserve scandal, the Royal Dutch/Shell Group on Monday tried to contain the fury of shareholders, but the company may have inadvertently made things worse after an executive raised doubts about when he was first informed of the reserve discrepancy.

Shareholders – demanding to know how the company could have overbooked 4.5 billion barrels of oil and gas reserves and also when company officials first knew about it – appeared surprised when Aad Jacobs, supervisory board chairman of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company, said he was told of “an issue with reserves” in November. read more

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The Guardian: Shell investors vent fury on ‘incompetent’ board

The Guardian: Shell investors vent fury on ‘incompetent’ board

“This company is giving world class salaries to non-executives for a world class scandal.”

Terry Macalister

Tuesday June 29, 2004

Small shareholders seized the first public opportunity to vent their anger with the Shell board, accusing it of incompetence and of rewarding failure, at yesterday’s annual meeting in London.

However, there was no big rebellion by institutions even though nearly 40% of investors voted against management resolutions at a parallel annual meeting in The Hague for the Dutch arm of the dual-listed company.

Attempts to get chairman Lord Oxburgh to reveal any moves to change the complex structure of the group were unsuccessful. He would say only that “extreme structures” were being considered – but did not explain what he meant. read more

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Daily Telegraph: Shell’s board survive: No wonder Shell is in such a mess

Daily Telegraph: Shell’s board survive: No wonder Shell is in such a mess

Here’s another lord in a lather. Oxburgh of Liverpool was probably out of breath when he arrived at the House of Lords for yesterday’s science and technology select committee meeting. For the previous four hours, the non-executive chairman of Shell’s UK business had delivered a (peerless?) master class in apologising for the oil and gas giant’s shocking loss of 23pc of its proven oil and gas reserves. It was a day for apologies at Shell’s annual meeting. Lord Oxburgh’s first one was for low-flying aircraft that might drown out his words. read more

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Daily Telegraph: Shell boards survive as showdown evaporates

Daily Telegraph: Shell boards survive as showdown evaporates

By Christopher Hope, Business Correspondent (Filed: 29/06/2004)

Shell’s embattled boards came through two stormy annual meetings in Britain and the Netherlands yesterday but a promised showdown with institutional investors failed to materialise.

In London, Lord Oxburgh of Liverpool, Shell’s UK chairman, was forced to deny there had been a board level “cover-up” over Shell’s announcement that it had overstated its proven reserves of oil and gas by more than 20pc.

Meanwhile, in The Hague, 40pc of Shell’s Dutch shareholders voted against a routine resolution “discharging” its directors and supervisory board of responsibility for Shell’s 2003 accounts. read more

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Houston Chronicle: Royal Dutch-Shell fuels doubts

Houston Chronicle: Royal Dutch-Shell fuels doubts

June 29, 2004,

THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS – For the first time since it became engulfed in an oil reserve scandal, the Royal Dutch-Shell Group of Companies on Monday tried to contain the fury of shareholders at its annual meeting, but the company may have made things worse after an executive raised doubts about when he was first informed of the reserve discrepancy.

Shareholders demanding to know how the company could have overbooked about 4.5 billion barrels of oil and gas reserves and also when company officials first knew about it appeared surprised when Aad Jacobs, supervisory board chairman of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., said he was told of “an issue with reserves” last November. Shell’s overstatement of its reserve estimates did not become public knowledge until early January. read more

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SKY NEWS: INVESTORS ARE DISGUSTED

SKY NEWS: INVESTORS ARE DISGUSTED

28 June 04

Shell shareholders have shown their disapproval at the company’s disastrous year of reserves downgrades and management sackings.

At the firm’s annual meeting in London, 10% voted against the group’s executive remuneration package.

Shell made four reserves downgrades since January, and the crisis sparked the departure of three top directors – including chairman Sir Philip Watts.

The firm made a £1m severance payment to Sir Philip, who was ousted after the board said it had lost confidence in him. read more

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Anger over Shell Reserves Crisis

The Scotsman: Anger over Shell Reserves Crisis

By David Winning, City Staff, PA News

28 June 04

Oil giant Shell was today given a torrid time by shareholders angry at the crisis over its reserves.

At its annual meeting in London, Shell was forced to defend its record in the face of allegations of a cover up and a lack of transparency.

Shell has downgraded its oil and gas stocks four times since January in a crisis that sparked the departure of three top directors, including chairman Sir Philip Watts.

The task facing the company as it battles to restore confidence was underlined by 10% of investors voting against its remuneration package for directors. read more

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BBC News: Shell appeals to shareholders’ patience

BBC News: Shell appeals to shareholders’ patience “You are still covering up the scandal,” the heckler cried to some applause,”

By Jorn Madslien

BBC News Online business reporter at the Shell AGM in London

28 June 04

Heads have long since rolled over Shell’s exaggerated reserves scandal and a new management team is in place, yet its shareholders are still far from content.

Having turned up in droves at the group’s much delayed annual general meeting in London on Monday, they demanded answers and they wanted further change.

“I am quite sure you were in consultation with institutional shareholders, so why were private shareholders left out?” barked private investor John Kennedy who wanted to know why Shell had failed to write to small investors at the height of the scandal back in the winter. read more

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The West Australian: Anger at Shell’s slow review pace

The West Australian: Anger at Shell’s slow review pace

JOHN PHACEAS

28 June 2004

Today looms as D-Day for troubled oil giant Royal Dutch-Shell, with shareholders expected to vent their spleen over the reserves write-down fiasco when they gather for this year’s annual meetings in London and The Hague.

Shell has been under intense pressure since admitting in February that it had over-estimated its oil reserves by 25 per cent, or 4.4 billion barrels. The move wiped billions off the market value of the Anglo-Dutch group, and forced three senior executives, including chairman Sir Philip Watts, to resign. read more

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What severance does the chief deserve when his board calls for a change of leadership due to a loss of confidence?

Christian Science Monitor: What severance does the chief deserve when his board calls for a change of leadership due to a loss of confidence? read more

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Shell faces twin-pronged attack

The Scotsman: Shell faces twin-pronged attack

NICK BEVENS

BUSINESS EDITOR

28 June 2004

OIL giant Royal Dutch/Shell holds simultaneous annual general meetings in London and The Hague today, facing what could be a massive investor defeat on two key motions which ask shareholders to absolve directors from responsibility for the company’s recent troubles.

Shareholder mood will be further darkened by Friday’s news that former chairman Sir Philip Watts, who quit in the wake of the oil and gas reserve estimates scandal earlier this year, has just been given a pay-off worth just over £1 million. Shell is 60 per cent owned by Royal Dutch Petroleum, with the rest held by Shell Transport. About 25 per cent of Royal Dutch stock is owned by US-based investors, and in The Hague they are understood to be following the recommendation of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), the influential proxy voting service, which has called for a vote against “discharging” directors – led by Jeroen van der Veer, Shell’s president – from their legal liabilities. read more

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The Times: Shell faces investor revolt over chairman’s £1m payoff

The Times: Shell faces investor revolt over chairman’s £1m payoff

By Caroline Merrell

June 28, 2004

EXECUTIVES in Shell, the oil company, expect a storm of protest today when shareholders gather for its annual meeting in London.

Investors are angry at the oil giant’s proposed £1 million payoff to Sir Philip Watts, the former chairman. They want Sir Philip to be paid only his three-month contractual entitlement.

The £1 million payment is five times the amount the company has to pay under the terms of his contract. In addition to the payoff, Sir Philip is scheduled to receive an annual pension of £584,000. read more

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Former chairman of Royal/Dutch Shell gets giant payout: ‘after an accounting scandal’

Taipei Times: Former chairman of Royal/Dutch Shell gets giant payout: ‘after an accounting scandal’

SEVERANCE PACKAGE: Sir Philip Watts received £1.06 million after he stepped down from his post at the oil giant after an accounting scandal

Sunday, Jun 27, 2004,Page 11

The Royal Dutch/Shell Group’s former chairman, Sir Philip Watts, received a severance package worth £1.06 million (US$1.93 million), the amount he would have earned had he stayed on until retirement, the company said on Friday.

Watts was asked to step down in March, after an internal investigation found that the company had overstated its oil and gas reserves estimates for several years. read more

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Shell board braced for revolt

Mail on Sunday: Shell board braced for revolt

Patrick Tooher,

27 June 2004

SHELL faces a major shareholder revolt at its annual meeting tomorrow that could see nine directors, including chairman Jeroen van der Veer, kicked off the Dutch half of the board at the embattled oil giant.

Institutional Shareholder Services, the world’s largest proxy voting agency, is urging clients to back a motion that amounts to a vote of no confidence in the Royal Dutch board over its handling of the oil reserves fiasco.

Financial Mail has established that Dutch investors who typically support incumbent management and have been blocking corporate reforms, own less than 15% of the shares. read more

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Shareholders to strike new blow against Shell directors

The Independent: Shareholders to strike new blow against Shell directors

By Tim Webb

27 June 2004

Up to a quarter of Shell’s shareholders will deliver a crushing vote of no confidence in the Anglo-Dutch oil giant’s management tomorrow.

Shareholders have warned that a “significant minority” will either abstain from or vote against the second resolution at the annual general meeting of the group’s Dutch arm in the Hague.

This asks them to approve the 2003 annual accounts. Under Dutch listing rules, Royal Dutch must ask shareholders to “discharge directors and managing directors of their responsibility in respect of their management for the year 2003”. read more

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Ousted Chairman of Shell Got $1.93 Million Package

The New York Times: Ousted Chairman of Shell Got $1.93 Million Package

By HEATHER TIMMONS

Published: June 26, 2004

LONDON, June 25 – The Royal Dutch/Shell Group’s former chairman, Sir Philip B. Watts, received a severance package worth £1.06 million ($1.93 million), the amount he would have earned had he stayed on until retirement, the company said on Friday.

Sir Philip was asked to step down in March, after an internal investigation found that the company had overstated its oil and gas reserves estimates for several years. He was the head of exploration and production, the division in charge of reserves, from 1997 to 2000, when much of the overbooking occurred. Sir Philip, who turned 59 on Friday, had been scheduled to retire in June 2005. read more

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Shell Ex-Chairman Receives $2 Million Severance Payment

The Wall Street Journal: Shell Ex-Chairman Receives $2 Million Severance Payment

Associated Press

Posted 26 June 04

LONDON — Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Cos. has paid former Chairman Philip Watts, who resigned in the wake of the company’s embarrassing overstatement of its proven oil and gas reserves, a lump-sum severance payment of nearly $2 million, the company said today.

Mr. Watts resigned in March, and his payment was based on his salary as an employee until his normal retirement date in June 2005.

When Mr. Watts resigned, the company said he did so in response to the board’s wish for “a change of leadership due to a loss of confidence.” read more

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Houston Chronicle: Shell pays $2 million to Watts: Reserves report forced departure of ex-chairman

Houston Chronicle: Shell pays $2 million to Watts: Reserves report forced departure of ex-chairman

By THOMAS WAGNER

Associated Press

June 26, 2004, 12:17AM

LONDON – Royal Dutch-Shell Group of Companies has paid former chairman Philip Watts, who resigned in the wake of the company’s embarrassing overstatement of its proven oil and gas reserves, a lump sum severance payment of nearly $2 million, the company said Friday. Watts resigned in March, and his payment was based on his salary as an employee until his normal retirement date in June 2005.

When Watts resigned, the company said he did so in response to the board’s wish for “a change of leadership due to a loss of confidence.” read more

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Former Shell chief awarded £1m payoff

The Times: Former Shell chief awarded £1m payoff

By Jenny Davey and James Doran in New York

June 26, 2004

SIR PHILIP WATTS, former chairman of Shell, the troubled oil giant, has secured a £1 million payoff just months after the oil group was alleged to have misled investors about the scale of the company’s proven oil reserves.

The severance payment, which has sparked outrage among some shareholder groups, came on Sir Philip’s 59th birthday.

The lump sum of £1,057,971 is equivalent to about 15 months’ basic pay.

Sir Philip will also retain 2,847,000 stock options, potentially worth millions of pounds, and the right to a £584,070-a-year pension. read more

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Some fear that Shell is not going to undergo the drastic shake-up that it is clear is required

The Times: ‘Some fear that Shell is not going to undergo the drastic shake-up that it is clear is required’

By Patience Wheatcroft

June 26, 2004

WHAT a generous gesture from Shell’s remuneration committee. There was Sir Philip Watts, contemplating a future on a meagre pension of just £568,000 but now he has at least got an extra £1 million in the bank to fund those occasional excursions he may be planning in his retirement. The news must have cheered him up on his 59th birthday. It might even have taken his mind off those investigations that the FSA and the SEC are still conducting into his activities at Shell. read more

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Sacked Shell boss walks away with £1m

Daily Telegraph: Sacked Shell boss walks away with £1m: “despite his role in the oil giant’s reserves debacle”

By David Litterick (Filed: 26/06/2004)

Sir Philip Watts: huge payout despite failure on reserves

Sir Philip Watts was paid more than £1m compensation from Shell despite his role in the oil giant’s reserves debacle.

The former chairman has been paid a lump sum of £1,057,971, which the company said was based on the amount he could expect to receive if he had stayed in his job until his normal retirement date of June 2005.

Sir Philip received an annual salary of £800,000 when he was forced to resign in March after Shell’s announcement that it had overstated its proven oil reserves by 20pc – the equivalent of 3.9billion barrels. read more

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The Independent: Investor fury over £1m pay-off for Shell chief

The Independent: Investor fury over £1m pay-off for Shell chief

By Michael Harrison, Business Editor

26 June 2004

Shell outraged investors yesterday by giving its disgraced former chairman Sir Philip Watts a pay-off worth more than £1m.

Sir Philip, who was ousted from the oil giant in March following a scandal over the misreporting of reserves, has also been allowed to keep 2.9 million share options in Shell and start drawing a £584,000-a-year pension immediately.

The size of the pay-off is certain to provoke fury from shareholders at Monday’s twin annual meetings of the Anglo-Dutch company in London and The Hague. Investors are still recovering from January’s shock reserves downgrade which wiped £16bn from Shell’s market value. read more

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The Guardian: Shell’s £1m goodbye for ousted Watts

The Guardian: Shell’s £1m goodbye for ousted Watts

David Gow

Saturday June 26, 2004

Sir Philip Watts, ousted as chairman for his role in Shell’s reserves fiasco, yesterday celebrated his 59th birthday with a £1.06m severance package.

Shell, facing a stormy annual meeting on Monday, said Sir Philip was being paid his basic salary from the day he resigned in March to what would have been his retirement at the end of June 2005.

But Sir Philip could yet face legal action for damages from his former employer if any of five separate investigations by regulators prove wrongdoing during the reserves debacle. read more

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