Shell Won't Move To Increase Stake In Woodside

Royal Dutch Shell RDS, Europe's largest oil company by market value, will not look to increase its 34% stake in the Australia's Woodside Petroleum, that country's second-largest oil and natural gas producer. Shell Australia Chairman Ann Pickard said today her company isn't preparing to make a move on Woodside. In 2009, Australian press reports said Shell and BHP Billiton BHP, the world's largest mining company, were considering a joint offer to acquire Woodside. A Goldman Sachs analyst recently said Shell may "reevaluate" its Woodside stake. Last month, Shell said it may spend as much as $50 billion in Australia over the next decade as it shifts more its production toward natural gas.