Royal Dutch Shell Plc recently announced it is selling USD $1.3 billion worth of non-core oil and gas properties in western Canada. Shell said it will sell 206,000 acres of developed and undeveloped lands, amounting to production of about 24,850 barrels of oil equivalent per day, to Calgary-based Tourmaline. The assets include 61,000 acres in the Gundy area in northeast British Columbia and 145,000 acres in the Deep Basin area of west-central Alberta.
Shell still holds nearly 650,000 net acres in the Montney and Duvernay shale plays and is a major oil sands producer in northern Alberta. The Montney is considered one of Canada’s best shale plays and was expected to provide most of the gas for Canada’s west coast LNG industry. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2016.