Shell Sheds North Sea Assets For $3.8 Billion -- Energy Journal

Here’s your morning jolt of news, insight and analysis on the global energy business. Send us tips, suggestions and complaints: EnergyJournal@wsj.com

Sign up for this newsletter: http://on.wsj.com/EnergyJournalSignup

SHELL TO SELL NORTH SEA ASSETS FOR $3.8 BILLION

Royal Dutch Shell PLC continues its mission to shed $30 billion worth of its global assets with news that it plans to seel its British North Sea operations to a private-equity backed company for up to $3.8 billion according to Sarah Kent and Ian Walker of the Wall Street Journal.

The Anglo-Dutch oil giant is in the process of selling assets to help pay for its acquisition of smaller rival BG Group last year. It was a transformative deal that boosted Shell’s dominant position in global gas markets and snagged it highly attractive deep water oil fields offshore Brazil, but also loaded the company with debt and a commitment to slim down.

The assets-disposal program has proved challenging at a time of low oil prices that weighed on deal making across the sector. Last year, Shell announced details of asset sales amounting to over $5 billion, but still fell short of a previously stated goal of disposals worth $6 billion to $8 billion in 2016.

SHELL SELLS INTEREST IN THAILAND FIELD

Staying with Shell's divestment program, Dow Jones reports that the company's second deal of the day was selling its interest in Thailand's Bongkot field for $900 million.

HOUSE TAKES AIM AT SEC ENERGY PAYMENTS RULE

Andrew Ackerman reports in the Wall Street Journal that U.S. lawmakers are poised to approve legislation this week aimed at quashing a rule requiring energy companies to disclose payments they make to governments for oil and gas fields, a nod to industry groups that have spent years fighting the regulation.

The House on Wednesday is set to begin the process of killing the rule by brandishing a little-used legislative weapon called the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to overturn regulations. The rule is a requirement of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial overhaul.

ELAND OIL & GAS RESTARTS NIGERIAN FIELD

Dow Jones reports that Eland Oil & Gas PLC has restarted production into the main storage vessel at its Nigerian Opuama field, and the shuttle vessel will shortly arrive on site with transport of the crude starting thereafter.

MARKETS

Read our latest market report at wsj.com.