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Former shell chairman was warned of reserve issues { March 8 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.quicken.com/investments/news_center/story/?story=NewsStory/dowJones/20040308/ON200403080046000016.var&column=P0DFP http://www.quicken.com/investments/news_center/story/?story=NewsStory/dowJones/20040308/ON200403080046000016.var&column=P0DFP Former Shell Chairman Was Told of Reserve Issues Monday, March 8, 2004 12:46 AM ET LONDON -- The ousted chairman of Royal Dutch/Shell (RD, news) Group (RD, news) was warned of possible overstatements in the oil titan's petroleum reserves two years before he publicly disclosed them, two people familiar with the situation told The Wall Street Journal. A memo, circulated to Sir Philip Watts and other senior executives in early 2002, warned that the company's method of booking oil and natural-gas reserves appeared to be inconsistent with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission guidelines, these two people said. The memo pointed out that the company might have to revise downward its reserve tally by the equivalent of about one billion barrels of oil, these people said. On Jan. 9, the world's third-largest publicly traded oil company by market value announced it would cut its oil and natural-gas reserves by about 20%, or 3.9 billion barrels of oil equivalent. A good chunk of the overbooking occurred during Sir Philip's tenure as the companywide head of exploration and production between 1997 and 2001. He became chairman in 2001. Just taking the oil portion, the reclassified reserves represent $67.5 billion of potential future revenue, assuming moderate oil prices of $25 a barrel. The SEC since has launched a formal investigation into the matter. Last week, the twin Dutch and British boards of the company ousted Sir Philip and a top deputy. The move came after Shell's audit committee briefed directors about preliminary findings into the reserve revisions conducted by an internal team of investigators and outside counsel. The team found a "trail of communications" showing Sir Philip appeared to have known about longstanding internal questions over the validity of the reserves bookings, according to one of the people familiar with the situation. Wall Street Journal Staff Reporters Chip Cummins, Bhushan Bahree in New York and Susan Warren in Dallas contributed to this article. Dow Jones Newswires 03-08-04 0046ET Copyright 2004 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Airline industry blames feds for high oil prices Airlines industry accuses bush of raising oil prices Bush chided for oil prices Bush disappointed with opec but saudi says no contact Bush will not use oil reserves for gas prices California prices will rise more China oil consumsion driving up market { August 31 2004 } Crude climbs to record high end of july { July 27 2004 } Crude drops as supply threats from iraq russia diminish Crude falls below 43 end of august { August 26 2004 } Crude futures rose to six week high after withdrawal storage Crude oil 4 week high on storm related shutdowns { September 18 2004 } Crude oil futures near 44 a barrel Crude oil gains as yukos prompts supply concern Crude oil hits 45 a barrel { August 10 2004 } Crude oil near record above 51 early october Crude oil nears 50 a barrel Crude oil rises above 55 on report of heating oil supply drop Crude oil rises after saudi attack Crude oil surges above 48 end of september { September 22 2004 } Fear factor adding to oil price says saudi oil minister Fear of opec cuts drive oil prices up { March 5 2004 } Fire strikes third largest oil refinery Firms to sign deals with libya { March 28 2004 } Former shell chairman was warned of reserve issues { March 8 2004 } Gas prices force crude awakening on miami motorists Gas prices hit record fourth week april Gas prices hit record level { March 12 2004 } Indonesia warns high oil prices all summer 2004 { May 10 2004 } Investors drive up oil prices despite opec assurance Nobody believes opec will cut production Oil boils near record high OPEC helpless { May 20 2004 } Oil climbs near 42 a barrel Oil companies making piles of cash Oil eases below 50 on election day Oil heads higher in sight of 40 dollars on supply fears Oil hits 13 year high amid low inventories { April 28 2004 } Oil hits record over 44 a barrel Oil holds at 40 a barrel for 3rd day { May 13 2004 } Oil price hits highest level since 1990 Oil prices briefly fall below 48 mid november Oil prices hit highest level since iraq war { January 13 2004 } Oil prices rise after more terror attacks Oil prices rise amid iraq yukos troubles Oil prices rise on iraq fears norway outages { June 18 2004 } Oil prices spike with gas prices Oil prices strong because supplies stretched Oil prices tumble 6 days from election Oil reaches 54 a barrel on winter supply concerns Oil rebounds after iraq pipeline attack Oil reserves fill during price hike { May 17 2004 } Oil up in july Opec actually raising output { March 27 2004 } Opec boosts oil output during price increase OPEC boosts production target 1 million Opec has lost control over oil prices { September 24 2004 } OPEC powerless to stem oil price surge { May 12 2004 } Opec produces over million barrels a day more than promised Opec production cuts { March 20 2003 } OPEC pumping oil at the fastest rate in 52 years Opec says demand not speculators driving market Opec says supply is plenty Opec to cut output by 1m a day Prices fall during august gop convention Rally trigged by news of pipeline explosion Rising oil demand challenges tired saudi fields { February 24 2004 } Saboteurs bomb iraqi pipelines to baghdad Saudi production increase has no effect { May 24 2004 } Saudis deny oil prices tied to bush election { April 20 2004 } Saudis try to calm oil prices for americans Senator claims oil companies for gas prices { May 26 2004 } Shell cfo replaced in reserve estimate contraversy { April 8 2004 } Shell cuts reserves for second time as probe widens Shell officer ordered reserves report destroyed { April 16 2004 } Shell production in oman declined rapidly in 1997 { April 8 2004 } Shell reclassified more of its reserves Shells ties to nigeria affect reserve figures { March 19 2004 } Shortage fear unabated price of oil rises again { July 31 2004 } Smaller cars gain ground as gas prices climb { May 20 2004 } Yukos stops sales oil hits 21 year high Files Listed: 80

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