Sumitomo Corp, Japanese trading house, has sold all stake of the Marcellus shale gas project in the U.S. The sale price and buyer was undisclosed, said the spokesperson. The corporation bought from Rex Energy Corp a 30% stake in the project in 2010. The Rex Corp went bankrupt in 2018. The Marcellus shale gas project is currently operated and 70% owned by PennEnergy Resources.
Sumitomo spokesperson said that the reason the company sold the stake as it is difficult to predict the natural gas future. It may also take a long time to gain contribution profit from the project and since the current condition has changed, its development may not continue as the initial plan after the price recovers. The corporation also had booked stake impairment loss around 2015 when oil and gas prices slumped, imposing an urge to write down the value of the assets of Japanese trading houses and international energy companies..
