Third Shell Executive Resigns Over Reserves Shortfall - NYT

[hatrack]

LONDON, April 19 — "The chief financial officer of Royal Dutch/Shell stepped down today in the wake of an investigation into the company's surprise change in oil and gas reserve estimates in January.
The officer, Judy Boynton, who has been at the company since June 2001, is the third top executive to be forced to leave as a result of the investigation.

Her departure comes as the company released a report on an internal probe into why the Anglo-Dutch group had inflated its reserves. It said that some Shell executives had known about the reserves shortfall since 2001, and that the company would be downgrading its reserves once again. The downgrade is its third in three months.

Two other executives — the chairman, Sir Philip Watts, and the head of exploration and production, Walter van de Vijver — were asked to leave by the company's audit committee in March because of the investigation.

EDIT

Shell said in January that its proven oil and gas reserves were 3.9 billion barrels, or 20 percent, lower than previously reported. Proven reserves are one of the most important assets for any oil company, and Shell's stock fell 15 percent in the days following the January announcement. Shell's audit committee, and Mr. van der Veer, are being closely watched by investors and securities lawyers alike, because the company is one of the first major foreign corporations to be investigated under the new United States law. Many Shell investors have been calling for a host of changes at the company since the reserves writedown, including abolishing the separate Dutch and English boards which now head the company's corporate structure."

EDIT/END

http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=communique&newsid=5478

[daa]

1. Isn't it amazing

how European or Asian business leaders resign with failure and American business leaders just lay off thousands and pay themselves a big fat bonus?

[jmcgowanjm]

2. the company would be downgrading its reserves once again.

And Shell shares many of its oil fields
w/ other companies whose reserves on
those same fields have remained unchanged.

A nice little aside here:

In an unusual move, Richardson(Gov-NM) has allied himself
with conservative ranchers in Otero Mesa who also
oppose Yates' project out of concern that drilling might
damage public land used to raise cattle.

"We've been surprised that Richardson came down on our
side on this since we never thought of him as a great
friend," said Don Lee, owner of the Hat Ranch in Otero
Mesa. Jones, a neighbor and another Otero Mesa rancher,
was more blunt: "I think the oil companies are the coldest-blooded bunch there ever was.
We don't want them to have carte blanche."

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/energy/2512949