Shell to buy Repsol LNG assets for $6.2 billion

Shell to buy Repsol LNG assets for $6.2 billion in cash and assumed debt

AMSTERDAM (AP) -- Royal Dutch Shell says it has struck a deal with Spain's Repsol SA to buy Repsol's liquefied natural gas assets in Peru and Trinidad & Tobago in a deal worth $6.2 billion.

Shell said it would pay $4.4 billion in cash and assume $1.8 billion in Repsol debt and other obligations.

The deal also includes a gas-fueled power plant in Spain.

For Shell, Europe's largest oil company, the deal builds on an already strong specialization in LNG. More than half of Shell's production comes from natural gas, rather than oil, and it has stakes in LNG facilities across the world.

Repsol said separately it would book a $3.5 billion gain on the deal and significantly strengthen its balance sheet, cutting net debt by half to around €2.2 billion ($2.9 billion).