Shell Accused Of Misleading Shareholders on Risks Of Arctic Drilling

"If Royal Dutch Shell’s Arctic drilling program leads to a major spill, it could cost the oil company — and therefore its shareholders — an entire year’s worth of profit, according to a Tuesday legal filing by the conservation group Oceana and a University of Chicago law clinic.

But the company’s investors are not aware of that risk, the two groups alleged. Because of that, the groups filed a petition to the Securities and Exchange Commission, requesting that the agency launch a formal investigation into Shell’s risk disclosures to shareholders relating to its activities in the Arctic Ocean.

“Investors need full disclosure of the risks and challenges of Shell’s activities,” said Mark Templeton, director of the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic in a press release. Otherwise, he said, they “cannot fully assess the company’s financial prospects in the Arctic Ocean and cannot influence Shell’s choices about whether to continue to make huge capital investments in the region.”"

Elise Shulman reports for Climate Progress April 29, 2015.

SEE ALSO:

"Groups Want Review of Shell's Arctic Regulatory Filings" (AP)

"Royal Dutch Shell Earnings Fell 56% in First Quarter" (New York Times)

"Shell Pushes on With Arctic Exploration as It Awaits U.S. Permit" (Reuters)

"Shell's Profit Plunge Prompts North Sea Jobs And Investment Warning" (Guardian)

"Shell, Greenpeace Spar Over Arctic Drilling Safety Zones" (Aljazeera America)