RIL out of race for Value Creation

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) is out of the race for Value Creation after the Canadian firm sold a majority stake in an oil sands property to BP Plc. Earlier this year, RIL had made a US$2bn takeover bid for majority stake in Value Creation to rival BP's US$1.2bn bid. Value Creation’s subsidiary Technoeconomics is the owner of a technology that helps produce oil from sand and upgrade bitumen - a major feed stock for petroleum - at a relatively lower cost. Value Creation's largest block of leases, Terre de Grace, covers about 290 square miles in the Athabasca region of Alberta.

Separately, RIL plans to buy three shale gas assets in the US, according to reports. The company may acquire a 40% to 50% stake in the US based company and the deal size is likely to be between US$1bn and US$2bn, added reports. RIL is nearing a deal for the US shale gas assets in a joint venture with Atlas Energy, which controls part of a huge gas field in the northeast of the US, according to reports. While RIL is the prime player in the discussions, other parties such as San Diego-based Sempra Energy are also negotiating to be part of the deal. Recently RIL failed in its attempt to buy bankrupt petrochemical major LyondellBassell.