RIL to invest $1.36 bn in Pioneer Natural Resources

Reliance Industries will invest $1.36 billion in shale assets of Pioneer Natural Resources, as the energy major looks to build its presence in the US shale gas sector.

Under the agreement, Pioneer will sell 45 per cent stake in its Eagle Ford shale acreage in south Texas to Reliance for $1.15 billion, the US firm said in a statement.

Reliance has also entered into an agreement with Pioneers existing partner in the Eagle Ford Shale play for about $210 million.

The deal is the second of its kind this year for Reliance, a petrochemicals-to-refining giant with a market value of $75 billion.

In April, Reliance agreed to pay $1.7 billion to Atlas Energy to form a joint venture and own a 40 per cent stake in Atlas' Marcellus Shale operations in the eastern United States.

Companies from around the globe are increasingly investing in US shale plays -- underground rock formations that hold reserves of oil and natural gas.

Shale gas accounts for between 15 per cent and 20 per cent of US gas production but is expected to quadruple in coming years, touching off a scramble among producers large and small for access to resources.

Shale gas is natural gas produced from shale. Oil shale is an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock, which contains significant amount of kerogen from which liquid hydrocarbons can be extracted.