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Asset sales the next driver of shale deals
The near-$200bn of shale deals seen in the past year are likely to be followed by asset sales as producers seek to reshuffle their portfolios. Such divestments will be led by public companies, in a reversal of recent years when private operators dominated the market. But sellers may take their time, as higher oil prices have bolstered balance sheets. And with shale inventory at a premium, they will want to be certain before agreeing to sales. "They're taking a long-time horizon view of this," consultancy Enverus principal analyst Andrew Dittmar says. "They don't want to give up any assets that it turns out they will ... (full story)