Daily Telegraph (UK): Search for leaks is not over as the Shell supertanker docks in Holland: “Since Shell slipped up so badly under an Englishman, it was always likely that the Dutch would press their advantage and wrestle control of the world's third-biggest oil company. So it has proved.”: “…an arrogant and introverted organisation, there is little to celebrate in yesterday's news. Downgrades in proven reserves may be fast becoming routine, but they have not lost their ability to shock, especially during one of our periodic panics about the world running out of oil…” (ShellNews.net)
City comment
Edited by Neil Collins
(Filed: 29/10/2004)
Since Shell slipped up so badly under an Englishman, it was always likely that the Dutch would press their advantage and wrestle control of the world's third-biggest oil company.
So it has proved. New Shell may be registered in Britain but it is to be domiciled in Holland, with a head office in The Hague. The Shell tower, which has dominated the South Bank for so long, becomes a branch office.
The Dutch victory could hardly be more complete. If New Shell were to be registered in the Netherlands on top of everything else, then it would fall out of the FTSE 100 index and overwhelm the local AEX index.
As it is, Shell's weighting in the FTSE will double from 4pc to 9pc, which is why the shares rose yesterday, reflecting the anticipated scramble of index funds rebalancing their portfolios.
Apart from the relief that, finally, common sense has broken through to an arrogant and introverted organisation, there is little to celebrate in yesterday's news. Downgrades in proven reserves may be fast becoming routine, but they have not lost their ability to shock, especially during one of our periodic panics about the world running out of oil.
A year after the problem first emerged, it would be comforting to think that this downgrade is the last, but Jeroen van der Veer was being suitably Dutch about it yesterday, and the possibility of further bad news remains. It's a pretty sorry commentary on a company that prides itself on getting things right.
There was a pleasant surprise in the profit figure, which shows that Shell's efficiency when it comes to marketing and selling oil products remains uncontaminated by its troubles upstream. After so much Shell-shock, a recovery is surely the way to bet, but given the sheer size of the business, and the distraction of legal actions in America, it could be a slow process.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2004/10/29/ccom29.xml