Sasol to buy another Canadian shale-gas stake from Talisman

08 March 2011 15:09  [Source: ICIS news]

TORONTO (ICIS)--Sasol has agreed to buy another stake in a Canadian shale gas project from Talisman Energy, paving the way for a possible gas-to-liquids (GTL) project in Canada, the South African petrochemicals and energy major said on Tuesday.

Sasol said it would pay Canadian dollar (C$) 1.05bn ($1.08bn) for a 50% stake in Talisman’s Cypress A project in the Montney Basin in Canada's western Alberta and British Columbia provinces.

Following a similar deal with Talisman in December, this latest transaction would allow Sasol to benefit from the growing North American gas market and pursue a possible GTL project in Canada, it said.

“The company believes that there has been a structural shift in the dynamics between the natural gas price and oil price, making GTL an even stronger value proposition,” it said.

“Shale gas has become an economically attractive alternative to conventional gas,” it added.

Cypress A, with an estimated “contingent resource” of 11,200bn cubic feet, was currently producing 18m standard cubic feet/day, Sasol said.

In related industry news, PetroChina and BHP Billiton recently entered the North American shale-gas market with deals in Canada and the US. 

($1 = C$0.97)

For more on Sasol and other producers, visit ICIS company intelligence

By: Stefan Baumgarten
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