Oil companies seek to add value through split

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil companies looking for a bump in their share prices are aiming for addition by subtraction: spinning off lower margin businesses such as refining to focus on red-hot exploration and production units.

And in an environment where proven oil and gas reserves are increasingly hard to come by, those split-off assets could pique the interest of some of the world’s largest oil companies, who have plenty of cash, but little opportunity to pick up new oil and gas assets.

Reuters