Shell to sell part of its Woodside Petroleum stake for $1.7 bn

Company to use proceeds to pay off debt

Royal Dutch Shell is selling part of its stake in Australia's largest independent oil and gas company, Woodside Petroleum Ltd, to equity investors for about $1.7 billion.

Shell, which has been slowly divesting its Woodside holding, said on Monday its Shell Energy Holdings Australia Limited (SEHAL) unit had struck a deal with two investment banks over the sale of 71.6 million Woodside shares for 31.10 Australian dollars ($23.79) apiece.

The oil major said that represented 64 per cent of its interest in Woodside and 8.5 per cent of the issued capital in Woodside.

The announcement came after the close of trade on the