UK-based Shell has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ARC Resources, a Canadian energy company focused on the Montney shale basin in British Columbia and Alberta, in Canada (Shell press release, 27/04/2026). The transaction, estimated at USD16.4bn, is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to ARC shareholder, court and regulatory approvals.
ARC will boost Shell's output of 2.8 mboe/d by 370 kboe/d. This acquisition “supports Shell’s aim to sustain material liquids production of ~1.4 mb/d towards 2030 and beyond. The transaction combines ARC’s more than 1.5 million net acres with Shell’s ~440 thousand net acres in the Montney formation and adds ~2 Gboe of proved plus probable reserves at the end of 2025”, according to the company’s press release. In addition, ARC’s proved plus probable gas reserves have the potential to support Shell’s growth in LNG in Canada, said the British company.
The acquisition is Shell's largest since it took over the global gas company BG in 2016. Analysts and Shell had forecast that Shell needed an acquisition or exploration breakthrough because of its ageing oil and gas fields (Reuters, 27/04/2028).