WSJ: Shell Pulls Back on Shale

Oil majors haven’t had the best track record when it comes to the shale revolution in the U.S.  Oftentimes, it has been smaller companies that have been most successful in discovering and developing resources. Meanwhile the majors have found shale’s economics haven’t been in their favor, especially as the sudden glut of gas caused U.S. gas prices to fall.

Anglo-Dutch major Royal Dutch Shell is the latest trying to cut its losses. It is close to a deal to sell its half of a joint venture in the Haynesville shale in Louisiana to private equity group Blackstone LP, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal’s Gillian Tan and Ryan Dezember. The transaction could value Shell’s share in the asset at around $1 billion.

For Shell, this would be its second recent exit from North American shale: it signed a deal to sell a big Texas field to Sanchez Energy Corp. in May.
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