The Times
Shell offloads Permian Basin assets to ConocoPhillips for $9.5bn
Royal Dutch Shell pledged to return more than £5 billion to shareholders after selling out of America’s largest oilfield.
The Anglo-Dutch oil company has agreed to offload its operations in the Permian Basin to ConocoPhillips for $9.5 billion in cash.
The energy group had spent the summer considering its future in what has been deemed the world’s most important oil and gas site, having pledged to take bold action to reduce carbon emissions amid mounting pressure from campaigners.
The sale amounts to a significant turning point for Shell, which produces about 175,000 barrels a day in the Permian.
The group said it intends to use $7 billion from its agreement with ConocoPhillips for “additional shareholder distributions”, with the rest set aside to bolster its balance