Asia's American Unconventional Adventure
The Financial Times examines the recent trend of Asia's emerging oil and gas producers taking stakes in North America’s booming unconventional energy sector,
Asian based players have made investments in shale gas and oil sands projects worth at least $20bn in the past two years, driven by a desire to gain access to unconventional knowledge and technology.
Major deals have included:
- PetroChina's purchase which a 50 per cent stake in a project owned by Canada’s Encana for $5.4bn (Read more about this here)
- Sinopec's purchase of a acquired nine per stake in of Syncrude Canada for $4.6bn
- Reliance Industries, which has invested $3.2bn in three US projects run by Atlas Energy and Chevron, Pioneer Natural Resources, and Carrizo Oil & Gas
- Korea Gas, which has taken a one-third stake in a US project owned by Anadarko Petroleum for $1.6bn
- CNOOC, which has has invested $1.7bn in projects owned by Chesapeake Energy
In the most recent transaction, BHP Billiton paid $4.75bn for part of Chesapeake’s Arkansas shale gas business this February.
Despite the enthusiasm, the Financial Times reports the sector remains fraught with problems, including question marks over pricing, regulation and the environmental costs of extraction and transport.
Read the Full Article from the Financial Times HERE