Royal's Master Plan

DOMINIQUE PATRY, Cheuvreux Crédit Agricole Group (12/13/2010)
"Shell announced an agreement to sell a group of gas fields in South Texas to OXY U.S.A, Inc., a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corp., for approximately U.S.D1.8bn, effective 1 January 2011. The sale is a further step in Shell’s ongoing portfolio restructuring and focus on capital efficiency. Shell is concentrating its investment on the most promising growth opportunities. The sale is part of the U.S.D7bn-8bn divestment plan over 2010-2011. It is aimed at rationalizing its North American portfolio following on from recent acquisitions there. The fields are predominantly mature gas fields which currently produce some 200mmcfd of gas equivalent. Shell has not disclosed the related reserves.

Shell continues to make significant investments in natural gas development in North America. Earlier this year, Shell added to its tight gas holdings, acquiring the Eagle Ford acreage and purchasing East Resources, a private company with significant acreage in the highly prospective Marcellus shale in the eastern U.S. Shell is our preferred stock among IOCs with Repsol. We appreciate the strong production and CF growth by 2012, the well balanced E&P portfolio, the ongoing downsizing of the refining capacities, the high dividend yield and the fact that the dividend is safe."

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