LNG trading significantly higher in fourth quarter Austrlia plant outages weigh on output Shell to pay additional $2 bln in windfall tax (Adds oil trading guidance and share price reaction) By Ron Bousso LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Earnings from Shell's liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading operations are likely to have been significantly higher in the fourth quarter of last year despite a sharp output drop owing to plant outages, it said on Friday. Europe's largest oil and gas company's update...

LONDON (Reuters) - Private equity firm Blue Water Energy said on Monday it had raised $1.1 billion for a fund to invest in oil and gas, the latest sign of growing appetite for the industry as crude prices recover from a downturn. The fund was closed after exceeding its initial target, Blue Water said in a statement. It has so far invested in three firms -- Norway-focused Mime Petroleum, infrastructure company GPS Group and Authentix, which provides services for oil trading. The fund is the...

Carlyle Group (CG.O) has bought Royal Dutch Shell's (RDSa.L) onshore oil fields in Gabon for $587 million (470 million pounds), continuing the growing trend of private equity investors looking to squeeze extra profit from oil majors' unloved assets. Private equity funds have increased their presence in oil exploration and production outside the United States since the 2014 collapse in oil prices, snapping up assets from oil companies seeking to reduce debt and narrow operations. For Shell,...