Royal Dutch Shell plc continued building its portfolio in North America tight gas, with new positions in high potential US shale gas acreage, in the Marcellus and Eagle Ford plays, the company reported in a news release. Shell has agreed to acquire subsidiaries which own substantially all of the business of East Resources, Inc (“East Resources”) for a cash consideration of $4.7 billion, from East Resources, its private equity investor, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and its advisors Jefferies & Company. The transaction is subject to certain regulatory approvals. East Resources is a privately-owned business with its primary activity focused on the Marcellus shale, in the northeastern US. East Resources has some 650,000 net acres (2,600 square kilometers) of highly contiguous, operated acreage in the Marcellus, and 1.05 million net acres (4,250 square kilometers) of acreage overall. East Resources has some 60 mmscfe/d (10,000 barrels oil equivalent per day) of production, predominantly in natural gas, with substantial medium-term growth potential.
In addition, as part of its on-going acreage build strategy, Shell has acquired