Shell reports stable oil reserves

Some analysts feared Shell would see a drop in reserves

Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has said its reserves in 2007 were stable, despite fears of a drop.

Shell said its reserves replacement ratio for the year was 109%, meaning that it had found more oil and gas in the ground than it had produced.

However, the firm did not commit to previously stated near-term growth targets of 1% to 2% to 2010.

Shell posted annual profits of $27.56bn (£13.6bn), a record for a UK-listed company, helped by soaring oil prices.

When the firm posted its profit figures in January, it failed to state its reserves, which had raised concerns that the numbers could be disappointing.

Net reserves stood at 11.9 billion barrels equivalent at the end of 2007, similar to that seen a year earlier.

The firm also raised its estimates of its overall oil and gas resources to 66 billion barrels of oil equivalent in 2007.