By Andy Critchlow October 30, 2015
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
Liquefied natural gas is taking the shine off Shell’s $70 billion takeover of BG Group. When the Anglo-Dutch major launched its deal in April, LNG was one of the main ways it justified the deal to investors. That line of argument doesn’t look so convincing now.
BG’s third-quarter results, released on Oct. 30, showed marketing and shipping of LNG taking a big hit. Despite the company revising higher its earnings expectations for the segment in 2015, revenue slumped 65 percent year-on-year, against a 9 percent top-line fall for the overall group.