Reliance Industries Ltd has decided to divest some more shale assets in the US, its second such sale within six months, as the company controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani moves forward on exiting its North American shale properties.
The refining-to-retail conglomerate has agreed to sell its interest in some of the Eagle Ford shale assets in Texas to privately held Sundance Energy Inc for $100 million (Rs 650 crore), it said in a stock-exchange filing.
Mumbai-based Reliance had sold its stake in in the Marcellus shale region in Pennsylvania in October last year for $126 million, likely taking a deep haircut.
The company, which operates the world’s biggest refining complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat, started investing in US shale assets eight years ago. That year, it struck three deals worth more than $3 billion, picking up stakes in Eagle Ford and Marcellus shale assets.
However, it started selling its stakes in US shale assets a few years ago.
In June 2015, Reliance and US-based joint venture partner Pioneer Natural Resources Co. agreed to sell their stakes in the Eagle Ford’s midstream assets comprising transportation and distribution projects.
Reliance said on Monday the latest sale involves assets that were not part of the near-term development plan and that it retains its interest in the remaining Eagle Ford assets that are core to its development priorities.
Reliance’s partners in the assets, Pioneer Natural and Newpek LLC, have also sold their stakes. Pioneer said in a separate statement that it sold its stake for $102 million and that it also plans to divest its stake in the remaining Eagle Ford assets.
The transaction is likely to close in the first quarter of 2018-19.