RIL announced its second JV for shale gas assets in the US, with Pioneer Natural Resources and Newpeck LLC in the Eagle Ford shale formation. RIL will acquire ~118k acres from Pioneer and Newpek for a total consideration of US$1.3bn. RIL will pay a total of US$1.3bn, US$263mn in upfront cash and the remaining US$1.05bn in the form of a drilling carry. The deal implies price of US$11,144/ acre, however, considering the drilling carry is spread over four years, adjusting for time value the deal implies a price of US$9,438/acre using a discount rate of 10%, which is lower than the US$10,797/acre paid by RIL to Atlas in its first transaction.
We are positive on RIL’s recent investments in shale gas and its stated strategy of building a sizeable portfolio there. However, NPV (more…)