Sumitomo's Shale Plans include Europe
Fresh after announcing its second shale gas investment in the United States, Sumitomo Corp. says it plans to continue to increase its exposure to shale gas worldwide.
On August 31st, Japan’s third- largest trading company agreed to pay Rex Energy Corp. $140 million for a 30 percent stake in a joint venture in the Marcellus Shale region in Pennsylvania. This was the company's second shale-gas investment after an initial foray into the Barnett Shale Gas project in Texas.
Tadashi Kobayashi, general manager of Sumitomo’s energy division, said the company plans to increase investments in energy assets by 50 percent over a five year period, to 150 billion yen. The investments will mostly be in shale gas, oil and liquefied natural gas projects.
“Shale gas is very attractive” because drilling and equipments costs are cheaper than for those of conventional gases, Kobayashi said. “We expect to expand our shale gas business to Europe and Asian countries such as India, China, and Australia as we get more experience.”
Mitsubishi Corp., Japan’s largest trading house, last month signed a C$250 million ($237 million) deal to buy a stake in the Cordova shale-gas project in Canada from Penn West Energy Trust.