More reserve, please

UNLIKE ChevronTexaco and ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch/Shell seems to have eschewed Perseus' cautious approach to Gorgon, glimpsing something of greater beauty than truly exists. Last month, following an internal review, Shell downgraded 20% of its proved oil and gas reserves to the probable category, triggering a fall in its share price, rocking investor confidence in the management and prompting a debate on how oil companies should account for their reserves. Combined, Nigeria and Australia's Gorgon gasfield accounted for about half of the write-down, with most of the rest relating to 'other eastern hemisphere' countries. One explanation for the original classification at Gorgon is that Shell as