Royal Dutch/Shell is preparing to insist the company was not at fault when it wrongly booked 3.9 billion barrels of oil and natural gas, the Financial Times reported this morning.
The company will claim instead that it was the victim of ambiguous US regulations, according to the report.
The paper said the defence strategy is expected to focus on the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) rules governing the accounting of proven reserves.
The rules date to 1978 and have become more challenging to interpret in light of new technologies and a more active futures market.
The SEC has updated the industry on interpreting its regulations at least four times since 2000, and has discussed the issue with companies in private, the FTsaid.
Shell would insist it took appropriate measures when the SEC's guidance made it aware of possible problems, it added.
AFP