Will UK North Sea Figure Heavily in Shell's Upsized Disposal Plans?

摘要

Well, that was fast. Royal Dutch Shell launched an expectedly ramped-up 2014 divestment program on Monday just three days after last week's shock profits warning, announcing its US$ 1.14 billion exit from the $29 billion Chevron-operated Wheatstone LNG project and related fields to existing partner Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co. (Kufpec) (p1). With a reported target of up to $15 billion in asset sales over the next two years — compared to a previous divestment run rate of $21 billion in 2011-13 — the supermajor is also eyeing disposals in Nigeria, the US and UK in a bid to boost underlying cash flow following a disastrous 2013.