India's largest private-sector company Reliance Industries (RIL) will invest $1.7 billion in a joint venture with US firm Atlas Energy Resources that will develop a shale property to yield natural gas.
Reliance will pay $339 million in cash at closing and will fund $1.36 billion of capital costs, the drilling carry, to acquire a 40% interest in approximately 300,000 net acres (120,000 net to Reliance) of undeveloped leasehold land held by Atlas. Atlas will retain the remaining 60% interest in the acreage.