Mega Deal mixed gas industry on
It is the first major merger in the oil and gas industry for more than ten years.
The Anglo-Dutch Shell Group buys the British gas company BG Group. What is the impact this has on employees and customers, is still unclear.
By Stephanie Pieper, ARD Radio Studio London
"Welcome back" in the world of mega-deals: This surprising merger is likely to
prove one of the biggest of the year, as measured by the purchase price and the market value of the new company. And it is likely to shake up the energy sector
tidy. 47 billion pounds - the equivalent of around 64 billion euros - Shell takes in the hand to accept the BG Group.
This is a very expensive purchase, such as Shell Chairman Ben van Beurden admits.It turns out, however confident that the concentration calculated at the end - and for shareholders. From the consumer is not mentioned.
Soon, the leading LPG?
In the UK, Shell is currently the largest and the BG Group, the third largest gas producer, once emerged from the state-owned utility British Gas. Combines both want now ascend the leading supplier in particular on the market for liquefied says van Beurden: "We will be a fantastic company in LPG already have two companies here high capacities and earn plenty of cash, even though we are also investing exactly why.. we like this place. "
Shell increased oil and gas reserves by a quarter
According to a forecast by the International Energy Agency IEA LPG in the future energy mix is becoming increasingly important. BG exploring new resources promotes the gas and is involved in numerous major projects worldwide. Is particularly interested Shell on projects in Australia and Brazil. The Anglo-Dutch energy multi-would increase by accessing the BG Group's oil and gas reserves in one fell swoop by a quarter.
The Board of Directors Chief of the BG Group, Andrew Gould, defended the merger with Shell: "It is crucial that we need better resources to stay long term powerful and competitive." This is important not only to survive against the competition, "but also to prepare for economic and geopolitical risks that affect our industry."
What is LPG?
Liquefied by cooling and compression gases are referred to as LPG. These gases under normal atmospheric conditions actually gaseous. So stay by appropriate thermal insulation or because they are liquid under pressure. Because these gases occupy only a fraction of its volume in the liquid state, large quantities are easier to transport and store. Liquefied natural gas is transported through pipelines do not like, but transported by ships, rail tank cars or tank trucks.
LPG is used, among other things, for heating and cooking purposes, as fuel and as a refrigerant.
BG and Shell under massive pressure
Both Shell and BG are under massive pressure as the oil price has halved since last summer about to around $ 60 per barrel, because the economy globally is weakening because the shale oil boom in the US and because OPEC has decided its delivery not to relax. Shell CEO van Beurden assured, however, the emerging synergies were not the driver for the proposed merger with BG.
To despise the savings that Shell and BG hope, but also not. The costs are expected to fall by almost three and a half billion Euros per year. What is the impact of this merger on the employees and the customers in the UK and beyond has is still unclear.
Van Beurden reaffirmed its commitment to continue to produce oil and gas in the North Sea - even if he does not expect a rapid recovery in oil prices: "We expect that the oil price is not significantly recovered this year there will be a few years. need before we again see much higher prices. Much will depend on how the OPEC behaves, what happens geopolitical and how the demand developed, especially in China. "
If the shareholders approve the deal and cartel investigations, then Shell / BG would move closer to the No. 1 industry, Exxon-Mobil of the United States. The last great wave of consolidation in the global oil and gas industry is about 15 years back. The time now targeted merger of Shell and BG Group may yet turn out to be a prelude to a new round.
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