Vine, Blackstone Energy Partners To Buy Shell's Haynesville Assets For $1.2 Bln

(RTTNews) - Vine Oil & Gas LP and Blackstone Energy Partners, an affiliate of private equity firm Blackstone Group L.P. (BX), said Thursday that they have agreed to buy the Haynesville assets of SWEPI LP and Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc., affiliates of Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDSA, RDSB), for $1.2 billion.

The assets comprise over 107,000 net acres in North Louisiana in the core of the Haynesville Shale natural gas shale basin.

Vine Oil & Gas is a partnership formed earlier this year by Blackstone Energy Partners and funds affiliated with Blackstone with the intent of becoming a significant, independent shale development company.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2014.