Reliance adds another shale gas deal

Reliance Industries has made its third U.S. shale gas acquisition this year, albeit less dramatic than its previous forays.

The Indian energy major will pay $392 million to take a 60 percent interest in a joint venture with Carrizo Oil & Gas, comprising of $340 million of cash and $52 million for developing assets in the Marcellus Shale.

The $52 million represents 75 percent of Carrizo's share of development costs over an anticipated two-year development programme.

In June, Reliance Industries announced an investment of $1.36 billion in the U.S. shale gas assets of Pioneer Natural Resources, and in April, the company said it would pay $1.7 billion to form a joint venture at the Marcellus Shale region with Atlas Energy.

Reliance will have a net share of 62,600 acres of Carrizo’s 104,400 net shale acreage of undeveloped leasehold in the core area of the Marcellus Shale in Central and Northeast Pennsylvania.  This is smaller than the 137,000 acres in the Atlas venture and 118,000 acres in Pioneer’s assets.

The resource potential in the Carrizo areas is a gross 3.4 trillion cubic feet of gas compared with 10 trillion cubic feet in the Pioneer areas.