Posts Tagged ‘Judith Boyton’

Serious consideration was given by senior Shell EP execs to exploiting the tragic events of 9/11 for desperate commercial purposes – to cover-up investor deception about Shell’s claimed oil and gas reserves. Concern was expressed about the possibility of getting caught out telling Investor Relation “stories” regarding production growth and reserves replacement and what the likely punishment might be.

By John Donovan, first published 1st Feb 2013 (re-edited on 4 April 2019)

I stumbled across some shocking Shell internal email correspondence while searching the US Court files for class action litigation relating to the Shell oil and gas reserves scandal. 

It involved senior Shell EP executives all reporting to Walter van de Vijver, Chief Executive of Shell Exploration and Production and a Group MD of the Royal Dutch Shell Group.

Serious consideration was given by senior Shell EP execs to exploiting the tragic events of 9/11 for desperate commercial purposes – to cover-up investor deception about Shell’s claimed oil and gas reserves. Concern was expressed about the possibility of getting caught out telling Investor Relation “stories” regarding production growth and reserves replacement and what the likely punishment might be. read more

His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei meeting Malcolm (TFA) Brinded, Shell’s Executive Director, Upstream International.

By John Donovan

On Sunday 1 January, the Borneo Bulletin published a gushing article under the headline “Oil & Gas continues to shower Brunei with benefits, opportunities“.

It described a claimed lovefest relationship between Royal Dutch Shell and the Brunei Royal family, which the Sultan of Brunei has summed up as: “the extraordinary symbiotic partnership between the Sultanate and the global oil giant… Royal Dutch Shell…“ read more

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

Time Magazine: Spring Cleaning: Europe’s CEOs are biting the dust as a more American-style shareholder activism reaches the boardroom

 By PETER GUMBEL/PARIS

Monday, May. 17, 2004

The board at Shell knew it needed to do something, and fast. A shocking revelation in January — that the world’s third largest oil company had overstated its proven petroleum reserves by 20%–was pummeling its stock price and angering shareholders. Regulators on two continents had started investigations. So in early March the board acted, ousting Philip Watts, who had been managing director of the Anglo-Dutch company for almost seven years and chairman since 2001, and replacing him with Jeroen van der Veer, president of Shell’s Dutch sister company, Royal Dutch Petroleum. A quick cure for all those headaches?
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