Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE ADR: RDS.A, RDS.B) announced Friday it would pay $4.7 billion in cash for U.S.-based East Resources, Inc. to obtain a sizeable stake of "high-potential" North American shale gas acreage.
Shell, Europe's largest energy producer, gets 1.05 million acres of gas properties in the northeastern United States and Texas. About 650,000 acres gained in the acquisition are part of the crucial Marcellus Shale, a tight gas property with shale formations estimated to hold up to 262 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas.
The remaining acres are part of the Eagle Ford Shale area in South Texas. The deal brings Shell's total U.S. tight gas acreage up to 3.6 million acres.
"The opportunity now is to consolidate our tight gas portfolio, divest from non-core positions across North America, and to invest for profitable growth," Peter Voser, chief executive of Shell, told The New York Times.
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