BP pays £1bn for chunk of US gas assets
11 April 2012
BP today moved to bolster its US exploration interests by splashing out $1.9 billion (£1.03 billion) for a slice of gas assets there.
The oil giant is buying a 25% stake in a natural gas field known as Fayetteville Shale from US operator Chesapeake Energy. The pair will now operate Fayetteville as a joint venture.
It is one of America's biggest resources of gas in shale or mudstone rock. Being relatively impermeable, shale is hard for oil and gas explorers but current high prices make it worth exploiting.
Today's move comes weeks after a previous deal saw BP buy Chesapeake's gas properties, known as Woodford Shale, in Oklahoma for $1.75 billion.
