Jan 31, 2017
Shell sells North Sea oil stakes to reduce debt
Royal Dutch Shell has struck deals worth up to $4.7bn to sell offshore oil and gas assets in the North Sea and Thailand, adding momentum to the debt-reduction programme launched after its $50bn takeover of BG Group. Y Brown, Shell's upsteam director, said: "Shell has a long and proud history in the UK North Sea, to which we remain committed. This deal complements the great strides we have made over the last two years in improving the competitiveness of our UK upstream business." Together the North Sea and Thai deals will take the running total from Shell's disposals programme to around $10bn. Bankers and industry executives hope the Shell deal will unlock further mergers and acquisitions in the North Sea as the stabilising oil price attracts more private equity interest. The North Sea - one of the world's oldest and highest-cost offshore oil basins - was plunged into crisis by the collapse in crude prices in 2014 and many larger producers are looking to reduce their exposure in favour of more profitable regions.
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