Shell Buys U.S. Shale Gas Assets for $4.7 Billion

May 28, 2010, 6:08 am

Royal Dutch Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas producer, said Friday that it had struck a deal to buy most of the assets of East Resources for $4.7 billion in cash, moving into the coveted sector of natural gas contained in shale deposits.

The Shell deal is with East Resources, an independent oil and gas company, its private equity backer Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and its financial adviser Jefferies.

“The opportunity now is to consolidate our tight gas portfolio, divest from non-core positions across North America, and to invest for profitable growth,â€