We have no doubt that Shell’s agreed takeover of BG Group is strategically sensible

We have no doubt that Shell’s agreed takeover of BG Group is strategically sensible; the combined business will have a dominant position in the LNG market and gas is increasingly being burned in developed countries to produce electricity. BG’s Brazilian reserves will have been a big carrot as the oil price slump makes it cheaper for oilcos to buy their smaller competitors and their established reserves than investing in exploration.

That said, £47 billion is a hell of a lot of money and we’re wondering if Shell’s shareholders would see a better long term return from a fraction of that money being spent on battery and energy storage R&D. 

The FT is predicting a spate of M&A activity in the oil and gas sector as the players fight over a declining market. 

Read the full story at the Financial Times.