Shell to sell shares in LPG arm

Shell will sell shares of its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) marketing arm in Pakistan after 44 years of operations, the Dutch petroleum giant said. Abid Ibrahim, company spokesman, said the decision to divest Shell’s LPG business in Pakistan had nothing to do with the low profitability of the company. Shell Gas Pakistan, the LPG marketing arm, reported a 73.8% decline in profit in October-December 2009, compared with the same period a year ago. Shell believes that the sale of its LPG business in Pakistan would help it focus on other key areas of operations. (February 12, 2010)