CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Friday it will buy East Resources Inc., a major owner of shale gas holdings in the northeast United States, for $4.7 billion from private investors.

Europe’s largest oil company said it will pay cash for East Resources, which produces oil and gas equivalents of 10,000 barrels of oil per day, mostly in Marcellus Shale, which extends over large parts of the northeast, including the Southern Tier and Pennsylvania. East Resources is based in Warrendale, Pa.

Shell said it was buying the company from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., as well as Jefferies & Company and privately-held East Resources itself. The deal must be approved by regulators.

Shell CEO Peter Voser said the acquisition fit with plans to “grow and upgrade the quality of Shell’s North America tight gas portfolio.”

East Resources is an active driller in Tioga County, Pa. See a map of East Resources wells and permits.

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