“We’re simply moving that shale business into the globalized upstream business, but the substantial nature of those resources, the quality of that portfolio, none of that changes,” Odum said in an interview with Fuelfix.
Some have misinterpreted an earlier press release, he said, as a sign that Shell’s shale business or North America may be less of a priority following Shell’s acquisition of BG Group, which has substantial liquefied natural gas and deep-water production assets in Brazil.
Folding the shale business within Shell’s upstream unit is “not minimizing, it’s mainstreaming, more than anything,” he said. “We’re taking the next step to fully globalizing now that we have the BG piece to incorporate as well. But it still runs as basically an independent business.”