Shell sells off $3.8 billion in North Sea assets

Shell sold 3.8 billion dollars in assets off the British Coast on the North Sea to oil company Chrysaor, the Dutch oil and gas giant announced on Tuesday. This sale forms part of a Shell divestment program, in which the Dutch company wants to get rid of some 40 billion dollars worth of assets, the Telegraaf reports.

Shell expects to make an accounting profit on this sale, should it go through - the deal is still subject to the relevant authorities' approval. Should the green light be given, the deal is expected to close in the second half of 2017. About 400 employees will move from Shell to Chrysaor.

The assets sold to Chrysaor accounted for a production of about 115 thousand barrels of oil-equivalent per day last year. Shell's entire oil production in the North Sea amounted to 211 thousand barrels of oil-equivalent per day in 2016.

Shell also announced the sale of 900 million dollars worth of assets in Thailand, according to the newspaper. This too forms part of the divestment program.