Shell buys shale gas firm, increases Marcellus stake

According to Canada's Globe and Mail, Royal Dutch Shell has announced that it will purchase the U.S. shale gas firm, East Resources Inc., for $4.7 billion in cash. The move will increase Shell's daily gas production by 7.5 percent, and gives it access to a section of the Marcellus Shale. East controls 650,000 net Marcellus acres, and 1.05 million overall. “These acreage additions form part of an on-going strategy, which also includes divestments, with an objective to grow and to upgrade the quality of Shell’s North America tight gas portfolio,” Shell chief executive Peter Voser said. Some analysts, however, say that the acquisition might have bad timing because Shell is already planning significant spending, not to mention the low natural gas prices and slack demand, and then the recent federal offshore drilling moratoria. Read much more, here.