The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

Shell sells Wheatstone-LNG stake for $1.1B in cash; hints at shelving Arrow LNG project in Queensland:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/shell-sells-stakes-australian-gas-085457096.html

Royal Dutch Shell said on Monday it had agreed to sell stakes in a gas project in Western Australia for $1.14 billion as part of the oil company's drive to improve its return on investment. Shell said it is selling an 8 percent stake in the Wheatstone and nearby Iago gas fields as well as a 6.4 percent stake in the related Wheatstone liquefied natural gas project to the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company.

… Shell's Arrow Energy joint venture with PetroChina Co Ltd in Australia said on Monday it had carried out a "review of staffing levels as it manages costs," declining to confirm reports it may cut 600 jobs, or half its workforce. The cost cutting bolstered speculation that Arrow's proposed A$20 billion LNG project in Queensland may be shelved in favour of selling gas to one of three rival projects in the state as costs have soared amid an LNG construction boom.

… Analysts and bankers say another of Shell's Australian assets, its 23.1 percent stake in Australian group Woodside Petroleum - worth over $6 billion at current prices - could be put on the block.

Several oil-company executives have been saying that the planned LNG capacity in Australia was excessive and that some projects wouldn’t get funded.