News & Media releases

Disclosure following agreement of severance arrangements with Walter van de Vijver

12/08/2004

Following Walter van de Vijver’s earlier resignation as a director of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company (“Royal Dutch”) and the companies of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group in March 2004, agreement has now been reached on the termination of his employment with effect from 1 September 2004.

Mr Van de Vijver will receive a total severance amount of € 3,800,000. This amount is payable in instalments and subject to continuing co-operation with and review by relevant authorities, amongst other conditions. The amount is based on his 25 years of service with the Group and had it not been for this termination the otherwise remaining years of service until normal retirement date. Mr Van de Vijver will not receive a performance-related annual bonus or stock options in respect of 2004.

The following terms apply to Mr Van de Vijver’s Royal Dutch share options and grants.

• All 20,000 performance-linked stock options over Royal Dutch shares granted to Mr Van de Vijver in March 2001 lapsed without any realised value in March 2004.
• The conditional award of 43,956 Royal Dutch shares made to Mr Van de Vijver in August 2003 under the Long Term Incentive Plan will lapse without any realised value on 1 September 2004.
• The exercise term of Mr Van de Vijver’s remaining 271,500 stock options has been shortened, so that they expire five years after the termination of his employment, on 31 August 2009, or earlier if the original expiry date was prior to 31 August 2009. This adjustment is consistent with the Group’s general practice of allowing employees to continue to hold options after leaving employment by mutual agreement.
• Half of the 75,000 stock options granted in 2002 remain subject to further performance conditions and may lapse.
• The remaining outstanding options currently offer no exercisable value (at the 11 August 2004 closing price of € 40.5).

The schedule for the remainder of Mr Van de Vijver’s stock options is disclosed in the Remuneration Report of the 2003 Annual Report and Accounts of Royal Dutch.

From 30 June 2015 Mr Van de Vijver has the legal right to a deferred pension of € 385,388 per annum under the Stichting Shell Pensioenfonds pension scheme to which he has contributed over the past 25 years.