ANDREW BURRELL AND PAUL GARVEY: JANUARY 02, 2014
ROYAL Dutch Shell’s new chief executive, Ben van Beurden, could move within weeks to order a sale of the oil giant’s unwanted $7.4 billion stake in Woodside Petroleum, a move likely to attract interest from some of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds.
More than three years after Shell sold down an initial $3.3bn stake in Woodside, speculation is building that Mr van Beurden, who formally took over from Peter Voser yesterday, will move to sell the remainder of its 23.1 per cent interest in the Perth-based oil and gas producer.