SHELL TO UNVEIL NUMBER OF STAFF TO BE RETRENCH BEFORE YEAR-END

MIRI (Malaysia), Oct 10 (Bernama) -- Sarawak Shell Bhd/Sabah Shell Petroleum
Corp (SSB/SSPC) will reveal the number of staff to be retrenched following a
downsizing exercise before year-end.

SSB/SSPC managing director, Mohd Anuar Taib, said the companies were
presently in the process of re-organising themselves.

Mohd Anuar, who is also Shell Upstream International Asia Malaysia
vice-president, said he would be updating the Sabah and Sarawak governments on
the progress of the exercise.

"The companies had so far conducted internal briefings for the staff on the
management's new organisation plan," he told reporters at the Shell Malaysia
Exploration and Production's Eid al-Fitr open house here Saturday.

On the retrenchment of 47 percent of Shell staff in Nigeria due to the
downsizing exercise, Mohd Anuar said the situation there could not be compared
with the operation in Malaysia.

"We are going to be impacted but I think Nigeria is not Malaysia.

"Each area will be impacted according to the business that are being run in
the area. Not one size fits all," he said.

On Friday, Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister, Dr George Chan, dismissed talks
that over 600 Shell exploration and production staff here would be retrenched
simultaneously, following the company's downsizing exercise.

Chan, who is also State Industrial Development Minister, said even if there
were going to be a manpower layoff, the process would not be carried out
drastically but over a period of time.

He said although he had yet to been informed on the exact number of staff to
be involved, he was aware of Shell's downsizing exercise.
-- BERNAMA