Supermajor Shell is spending record sums, said Peter J. Sharpe, allocating more than $20 billion/year in capital for new projects and more than $2 billion/year for exploration. Shell’s well engineering and well services budget was $7 billion in 2007 and will continue at the same level until the end of the decade.As vice-president of the Wells function and chief well engineer for Shell International Exploration & Production BV, Sharpe oversees the activities of 2,300 company staff, more than 160 actively drilling rigs, and hundreds of operations in more than 30 countries. Wells activity in Shell has increased by about 50% since 2003, obliging the company to recruit more than 650 ...