Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe's largest oil company by market value, said it is has not yet started evacuations of offshore staff in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico as a tropical depression may develop in the Caribbean.

``We have not initiated any evacuations and there is no impact to Shell-operated production at this time,'' Shell said in a statement on its Web site yesterday. ``It is too early to know if the system may impact the Gulf of Mexico,'' it added in a statement. Shell said it is prepared to begin evacuations to reduce offshore staffing levels, if necessary.

An area of low pressure associated with a tropical wave is currently located above the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. A tropical depression could form at anytime during the next day, it said on its Web site today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Fred Pals in Amsterdam at fpals@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 15, 2008 03:53 EDT