Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (RIL), has agreed to pay Pioneer Natural Resources Co. and its partner Newpek LLC a sum amounting to $1.3 billion (Rs.5,850 crore) for a 45 percent stake in its Eagle Ford shale formation.In the Joint Venture (JV) Company, RIL will hold 45 percent stake with Pioneer at 46 percent and Newpek at 9 percent.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Reliance will pay $266 million (Rs.1,197 crore) to Pioneer upon the deal's closing and will provide another $879 million (Rs.3,955 crore) to fund Pioneer's future drilling costs. Reliance will separately pay approximately $210 million (Rs.945 crore) to Newpek, Pioneer's partner in the Eagle Ford shale formation and a unit of Mexican conglomerate Alfa SAB.

AmLaw reports that RIL was advised by Baker Botts on the agreement with Pioneer. Hugh Tucker, Head of the firm's oil and gas practice, along with Partner George Goolsby, Corporate Partner Joe Poff, Tax Chair Gregory Nelson, Tax Partner Renn Neilson, Environmental Partner Aileen Hooks, and Project Finance Partner Martin Toulouse.

Pioneer was advised by Vinson & Elkins on the sale. M & A and Project Finance Partner David Cohen led the team along with M & A Partners Michael Wortley, A. Winston Oxley and Rodney Moore. Energy M & A Partner John Connally IV and Project Finance Partner Christopher Dawe were also part of the team.

Alfa was advised by Thompson & Knight on the deal. Energy Partner Scott Schwind, Tax Partner Joseph Rudberg and Associate Gabriel Salinas were part of the team.

RIL was advised by the team from AZB & Partners led by Partner Shuva Mandal. The firm advised the company on Indian regulatory and legal issues.

This comes as the second shale deal for RIL, after it acquired a 40 percent interest in Atlas Energy to develop a better part of the Marcellus Shale. The April deal saw Vinson & Elkins advising RIL with Wachtell & Jones Day advising Atlas Energy.

During the 36th Annual General Meeting of RIL held earlier this month, Chairman Mukesh Ambani had said, "Shale gas is the most promising development in the energy area in North America. It is likely to overtake both conventional gas as well as liquid fuels as a source of energy within the next decade."

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