The deal executed by the Japanese trading house is believed to be worth tens of millions of dollars

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The asset involved in the deal is a field in the Eagle Ford play. (Credit: John R Perry from Pixabay)

Japan’s Sumitomo has reportedly exited from the US shale oil business after divesting its stake in a project in the Eagle Ford formation in late 2020.

The trading house executed the deal with an undisclosed buyer between October and December, reported Reuters, citing a company spokesman.

The asset involved in the deal is a field in the Eagle Ford play in southern Texas in which the company had acquired a stake of 100% in 2018. The field is said to have a peak production of 3,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

According to a report from Nikkei Asia, the transaction is believed to be worth tens of millions of dollars.

Last September, Sumitomo completed the sale of its stake of around 30% in a Marcellus shale gas development project and its relevant assets in Pennsylvania.

The buyer and the consideration involved in the deal were not revealed by the Japanese trading house.

In January 2021, Nikkei business daily reported that the Japanese firm will no longer invest in new oil development projects.

The decision is said to in line with its shifting away from fossil fuels operations with an objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Sumitomo is expected to continue to be engaged in its existing oil assets, which includes its North Sea projects.

In May 2020, the company reached an agreement with Yinson Holdings Berhad to take part in the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) owning and chartering business for the Marlim II Project, off the Brazilian coast.

Yinson Holdings Berhad is a Malaysian offshore development services provider.