Bloomberg: Beach Looks at Selling Egyptian Assets to Focus on Australia

Beach Energy Ltd. is considering selling its holdings in Egypt as the company focuses on Australia, where it’s exploring with Chevron Corp.

The decision on what to do with the assets, which include a gas project that’s forecast to begin output in the first quarter of 2015, will likely be made in the first half of next year, Managing Director Reg Nelson said today in an interview.

“Good gas production and sales would make it a much more attractive proposition for interested buyers,” Nelson said in Sydney. “We’re doing a review of our portfolio to look to rebalance it, and that’s one of the things we’d look at.”

Beach, which owns stakes in projects in Egypt, Tanzania, Romania and New Zealand, said in August it was reviewing all of its overseas assets. The company is developing gas fields in Australia’s Cooper Basin with Chevron, seeking to take advantage of rising prices on the east coast. MORE