BBC NEWS: Shell delays shareholder meetings: “If the company is forced to revise estimates further, previous financial statements may have to be restated, which could delay publication of its results.”: “Shell is also in the middle of a restructuring, after the reserves scandal resulted in the ousting of top directors and led to about £80m in regulatory fines.”: “The scandal rocked investor confidence” (ShellNews.net) 26 Nov 04

Oil giant Shell is pushing back the dates of its shareholder meetings amid ongoing uncertainty about its estimates of oil reserves. The world's third largest oil company said its shareholder meetings due in April will now take place on 28 June.

The company is in the middle of a shake-up after shocking investors back in January by slashing estimates of its oil and gas reserves by 20%.

Its latest review of its reserves will be completed by the end of the year.

If the company is forced to revise estimates further, previous financial statements may have to be restated, which could delay publication of its results.

Dismantling

At present, the company plans to publish its fourth-quarter results on 3 February, 2005.

Shell is also in the middle of a restructuring, after the reserves scandal resulted in the ousting of top directors and led to about £80m in regulatory fines.

The oil giant plans to dismantle its dual-ownership structure where one board deals with Netherlands-based Royal Dutch and another takes care of UK-based Shell Transport & Trading.

Shareholders will vote on these proposals at next year's annual meeting.

"Given this potential for delay and to avoid uncertainty for shareholders, the annual general meetings of Royal Dutch and Shell Transport & Trading will now be held on 28 June 2005," the company announced.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4044557.stm