(April 28): Shell plc agreed to buy Canadian oil and gas producer ARC Resources Ltd for US$13.6 billion, its biggest deal in more than a decade as it seeks to sustain output in the long term.
It’s the first major acquisition in the three-year tenure of chief executive officer Wael Sawan, who has been pressed recently to bolster the company’s fossil fuel reserves. In the absence of major discoveries, and with Shell saying last year it won’t bid for troubled rival BP Plc, a smaller deal has been the likeliest path to growth.
ARC’s low-cost shale gas and liquid hydrocarbon production complements Shell’s existing operations in Canada, which include a stake in a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility on the west coast. The country, which under Prime Minister Mark Carney has accelerated approval of energy projects, is now core to Shell’s ambitions, Sawan said.
“This establishes Canada as a heartland for Shell,” Sawan said in a statement announcing the transaction on Monday. The deal “strengthens our resource base for decades to come”.
The deal reinforces the London-based company’s move to refocus on its core oil and gas business in a drive to boost returns to investors. ARC’s assets will raise the compound annual growth rates of Shell’s production between 2025 and 2030 to 4%, up from 1% previously. It will help sustain liquids production toward 2030 and beyond at about 1.4 million barrels a day.
ARC’s shares jumped as much as 24% to the highest in more than 10 years. Shell dropped 1.7% to 3,252.5 pence in London.
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LNG Canada
The transaction will help support output from LNG Canada, an important export project that gives access to Asian markets to the country’s natural gas resources. A second phase of expansion is possible at the project, in which Shell has a 40% stake, although Sawan told reporters acquiring ARC doesn’t mean a final investment decision is imminent until at least the end of the year.
ARC’s operations are situated in the same region as Shell’s Groundbirch asset in British Columbia, which supplies LNG Canada, and the Gold Creek project in neighbouring Alberta, according to the statement. The acquisition also gives Shell exposure to another export project with ARC’s supply deal into Cedar LNG, a smaller facility under construction nearby.
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The ARC deal will be Shell’s biggest acquisition since buying BG Group in 2015, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Shell will pay with about 25% cash and 75% shares, at a premium of 20% to ARC’s 30-day weighted average price.
It marks a pivot for the company’s North American operations after it largely sold its position in the oil sands in 2017 to Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. The London-based company also sold its US shale assets in the Permian Basin to ConocoPhillips in 2021.
It’s the biggest Canadian oil and gas deal since 2012, when CNOOC Ltd bought oil sands producer Nexen Energy Ulc for US$15.1 billion at the time.
The boards of both companies unanimously supported the transaction, according to the statement. It is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to shareholder, court and regulatory approvals.
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