BHP writes down US shale assets by $US2.8b
BHP Billiton has had to write down the value of its American shale gas assets by $US2.84 billion ($2.7 billion) and it also cut the value of its nickel assets by $US450 million.
A glut of gas supply in the United States and subsequent low gas prices there forced the world’s biggest resources company to take massive impairment.
BHP will write down the value of the Fayetteville shale gas assets that it acquired from Chesapeake Energy in February 2011.
Analysts had been expecting a writedown of at least $US3 billion for BHP’s natural gas assets, bought for a total of $US17 billion when US gas prices were far above current levels.
BHP shares sank as much as 71 cents, or 2.2 per cent, to $31.31 in early trading, compared with a drop of about 0.5 per cent in the overall market.
BHP said the value of its onshore US shale liquids and gas assets acquired with Petrohawk Energy were not affected by the writedown.
BHP Chief Executive Marius Kloppers and petroleum head Mike Yeager had requested they not be considered for a bonus in 2012, the company added.
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AAP, Reuters