Shell Exploration & Production Company is pleased to announce that the Minerals Management Service has awarded Shell Offshore Inc. 84 leases in the Beaufort Sea, offshore Alaska. Shell bid on the leases in the March 2005 Outer Continental Shelf Lease Sale 195. "Shell is committed to growing globally through exploration for new material oil and more integrated gas and we believe North America continues to hold promising opportunities. Alaska, because of its large resource potential, is one such area," said Annell Bay, Regional Vice President for Exploration in the Americas. "We see the Beaufort Sea as a significant basin. It offers a wide diversity of geology and is largely untested." "Based on our geological analysis and our experience with offshore developments in Arctic conditions, plus our history of safe and successful exploration in Alaska, we believe that we can build a significant position in Alaska, starting in the Beaufort. We also plan to make additional investments in Alaska," said Chandler Wilhelm, Alaska Exploration Manager. "For Shell to be successful, and to achieve our vision for Alaska, we need to work in partnership with key stakeholders for our mutual benefit. We are committed to doing our part." Shell's renewed activity in Alaska has been applauded by many stakeholders, including Gov. Frank Murkowski. "I welcome Shell back to Alaska," said Murkowski. "Shell's interest again demonstrates Alaska's competitiveness in a global business environment. My administration is working hard to ensure that Alaska is an attractive place to do business. With numerous oil prospects and a gasline on the horizon, Alaska will continue to contribute to the nation's energy supply and energy security for decades to come." In addition to Gov. Murkowski, Shell has begun meeting with other stakeholders regarding the Beaufort Sea leases. Shell looks forward to continuing stakeholder engagements as it considers other business opportunities in Alaska where Shell can best use its technological expertise to responsibly develop vital oil and natural gas resources. To help support its new Alaska business, Shell has opened an office in Anchorage, located in The Frontier Building, at 3601 C Street. Tom Homza, a long-time Alaska geologist, will serve as Shell's Office Manager. In addition, Edna Beuhler, a long-time Alaska resident, will serve as the Anchorage Office Coordinator. Shell's primary US Exploration team will remain based in Houston.
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US -- Shell Exploration & Production Company (SEPCo) is responsible for safely finding, developing and producing oil and natural gas in the United States. Based in Houston, Texas, key operating locations are in the Gulf of Mexico, Wyoming, South Texas and Alabama. SEPCo also has an equity interest in Aera Energy LLC, a California producing operation, which is jointly owned by SEPCo affiliates and Exxon Mobil.
*More information can be found on SEPCo's web site. Royal Dutch Shell plc
Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges. Shell companies have operations in more than 145 countries with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of Liquefied Natural Gas and Gas to Liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects including wind and solar power. For further information, visit  http://www.shell.com Disclaimer statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements, that are subject to risk factors associated with the oil, gas, power, chemicals and renewables business. It is believed that the expectations reflected in these statements are reasonable, but may be affected by a variety of variables which could cause actual results, trends or reserves replacement to differ materially, including, but not limited to: price fluctuations, actual demand, currency fluctuations, drilling and production results, reserve estimates, loss of market, industry competition, environmental risks, physical risks, risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets and the successful negotiation and consummation of transactions, the risk of doing business in developing countries, legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including potential litigation and regulatory effects arising from recategorisation of reserves, economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions, political risks, project delay or advancement, approvals and cost estimates.
Please refer to the Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2004 (as amended) for a description of certain important factors, risks and uncertainties that may affect the Shell Group's businesses. Neither Royal Dutch Shell plc nor any member of the Shell Group undertakes any obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or other information. Cautionary Note to US Investors:
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission ('SEC') permits oil and gas companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only proved reserves that a company has demonstrated by actual production or conclusive formation tests to be economically and legally producible under existing economic and operating conditions. We use certain terms in this presentation, such as "expected producible resources" and "amount of reserves we expect to produce", that the SEC's guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in filings with the SEC.
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