Shell to Sell Tunisian Gas Assets

Royal Dutch Shell is seeking to sell its gas fields in Tunisia for some $500 million, sources said, as the Anglo-Dutch company pushes forward with its vast disposal programme.

The Tunisian assets, accounting for some 65 percent of the North African country's gas production, were acquired as part of Shell's $54 billion take over of BG Group (BRGXF) last year.

The assets include two offshore gas fields -- Miskar, fully owned by Shell and Hasdrubal, 50 percent owned by Shell -- as well as an onshore production facility.

In 2015, the fields produced 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, according to BG Group's annual report of the same year.

According to two industry sources and another banking source, Shell is seeking to raise around $500 million from the sale.

A Shell spokeswoman declined to comment.

Shell has sold or agreed to sell more than $20 billion in assets over the past year as part of a $30 billion divestment programme aimed at reducing debt following the BG acquisition.

(Reporting by Ron Bousso)