Royal Dutch Shell PLC has signed an agreement to sell part of its stake in Woodside Petroleum Ltd. to equity investors. Shell subsidiary Shell Energy Holdings Australia Ltd. has entered into an underwriting agreement with two investment banks for the sale of 71.6 million shares in Woodside, representing 64% of its interest in Woodside and 8.5% of the issued capital in Woodside, at a price of $31.10 (Aus.)/share, resulting in total pretax proceeds of $2.2 billion (Aus.). The sale is expected to be completed on Nov. 14.
Shell Chief Financial Officer Jessica Uhl said, “This sale is another step towards the completion of our 3-year, $30-billion divestment program, which is an important part of our strategy to reshape Shell, to deliver a world-class investment case, and to strengthen our financial framework.” Proceeds from the sale will contribute to reducing net debt, Uhl said.
After completion of the sale, the Shell unit will continue to own 4.8% interest in Woodside and the unit has agreed that it will not dispose of any of its remaining shares in Woodside for a minimum of 90 days from completion of the sell-down.
Outside of its interest in Woodside, Shell has the following interests in Australia:
• QGC venture (Shell-operated, majority interest).
• Arrow Energy (Shell, 50% interest).
• Gorgon LNG (Shell, 25% interest).
• North West Shelf (Shell, 16.67% interest).
• Prelude FLNG project (Shell-operated 67.5% interest).
• Browse development venture (Shell, 27% interest).
• Sunrise LNG joint venture (Shell, 26.6% interest).
• Shell Energy Australia (Shell, 100% interest).
