The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has pushed back its deadline to make a decision on Shell’s US$70 billion bid for BG Group.
The ACCC says the deadline, initially set to September 17, before being delayed until November 12, has now been set back to November 19.
The ACCC says the latest delayd was to "allow additional time to consider the proposed acquisition."
In September, the ACCC had raised an "amber light" over the merger between Shell and BG on the ground that it could "substantially lessen" competition in the Queenside or eastern Australian gas market.
This is because Arrow, owned by Shell, has the largest quantity of uncommitted gas reserves in eastern Australia and there are a limited number of other potential suppliers to the domestic market.
Shell's acquisition of BG Group could see it prioritize supply to LNG, due to BG Group's interest in the QCLNG project. "By removing some (or all) of Arrow’s gas from the domestic market, the proposed acquisition could substantially lessen competition in either the Queensland or eastern Australian gas market," said ACCC back in September.
Shell has previously indicated it would still supply gas to the domestic market.
Shell made the $70 billion cash and share offer for UK-headquartered deepwater and LNG-focused BG Group back in April. At the time, analyst firm GlobalData called the merger, "the largest mega deal since Exxon and Mobil merged in 1998."
The deal would add some 25% to Shell’s proven oil and gas reserves and 20% to production, including LNG and deepwater assets in Brazil and Australia, and enable an increase in asset sales to $30 billion by 2016-18.
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