Total Enters US Shale Gas With Chesapeake JV Deal |
| Wall Street Journal - Jan 4, 2010 |
French oil company Total SA (TOT) has become the latest major energy company to enter the booming U.S. unconventional natural-gas sector with a joint-venture deal with U.S. gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK).
Total will acquire 25% of Chesapeake's Barnett Shale gas portfolio in Texas for $800 million, the companies said. Total has also committed to pay a further $1.45 billion over a maximum period of six years to fund 60% of Chesapeake's future capital expenditures on drilling and completion of wells.
The deal underscores the growing interest major international oil companies have in gaining a foothold in U.S. shale-gas fields. Over the past year and a half BP PLC (BP) and Statoil ASA (STO) have also reached agreements with Chesapeake to develop U.S. shale resources, with an eye towards using transferring the technology overseas, as well. Last month, Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) made the biggest endorsement yet in U.S. shale gas with its $31 billion all-stock deal to acquire XTO Energy Inc. (XTO). Output from shale-gas fields has bulked up U.S. reserves and reversed the view that domestic gas output had reached a state of terminal decline.
Read Full Article from Wall Street Journal
- Posted: 2010-01-04 11:13:33
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