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Briton tipped to run Shell for first time in a decade as Voser steps down into retirement

Chief financial officer Simon Henry was made the front-runner by bookmaker Paddy Power, despite saying it would be ‘inappropriate’ to discuss his candidacy. The Anglo-Dutch firm has not had a British boss since Sir Philip Watts left in disgrace in 2004 after Shell overstated its oil reserves.

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Screen Shot 2013-05-03 at 08.17.32By Rob Davies: PUBLISHED: 22:14, 2 May 2013 | UPDATED: 22:30, 2 May 2013

Shell boss Peter Voser has announced his retirement at 55, sparking a succession race that could put a Briton in charge of Europe’s largest oil firm for the first time in nearly a decade.

Chief financial officer Simon Henry was made the front-runner by bookmaker Paddy Power, despite saying it would be ‘inappropriate’ to discuss his candidacy.

Centrica chief Sam Laidlaw is also in the frame, alongside a host of Shell ‘lifers’ in various executive positions.

The Anglo-Dutch firm has not had a British boss since Sir Philip Watts left in disgrace in 2004 after Shell overstated its oil reserves.

Voser, who will step down in 2014, told staff he wanted a ‘change in lifestyle’ and to spend more time with his family.

He revealed his retirement, which came as a surprise to analysts, alongside a 4 per cent increase in first-quarter profit to £5.1billion. He raised the dividend 5 per cent to 29p per share.

Shell was boosted by high oil and gas prices, as Europeans turned up their thermostats in the unusually cold winter.

Production was flat at 3.6million barrels a day, but would have been up 2 per cent were it not for the decision to shut down a major pipeline in the Niger delta due to frequent oil theft.

Output was boosted by 175,000 barrels a day by new projects including the £12billion Pearl gas-to-liquids plant in Qatar.

‘Upstream’ earnings, from oil production and sales, were down 13 per cent to £3.7billion as sales of oil fell by 7 per cent. Shell, which produces more gas than oil, also said higher exploration costs hit profit.

High profit margins from refining and a better profit from oil trading boosted ‘downstream’ earnings by 28 per cent to £1.1billion.

Voser will leave with a pension pot worth £12.5million and share options worth around £1.75million at yesterday’s closing price of £22.03, down 10.5p. He owns 426,638 shares worth £9.6million at the same share price.

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