Marubeni Sells Down US Shale Asset

Japan’s Marubeni Corporation, through its subsidiaries, has agreed to sell part of its interest in Eagle Ford shale oil and gas assets to two American independent oil and gas companies. “The deal was completed as the closing terms and conditions of the contract have been met,” Marubeni said March 26.

The Japanese company did not disclose the financial details or the buyers’ identity. It bought a 35% working interest in the Texan acreage from Dallas-based Hunt Oil in 2012 for about $1.3bn. The play covers about 52,000 net acres of oil and gas leases.

The company said it is reinforcing its financial foundation as the top priority under the Revised GC2018 Management Policy. “Marubeni is accelerating asset recycling as part of the enhancement of the cash flow management and this deal is expected to contribute to that goal,” it said. This deal will have a negligible effect on Marubeni’s earnings, it said.