US upstream independent Chesapeake Energy's latest deal suggests a saturated market for shale properties, with sellers under pressure to remedy cash flow shortfalls and buyers reluctant to pay up for unproven formations. Chesapeake, the biggest US accumulator and marketer of shale assets, has a history of establishing high values for its leaseholds when it sells stakes to foreign firms. But its latest deal, a $1bn venture with China's state-controlled Sin- opec, suggests that the strategy may have run its course.
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