Reliance Industries says to buy Shale stake in U.S.- R

Reliance Industries (RELIANCE.NS : 1012.45 -3.6) said on Thursday one of its units had signed definitive agreements to enter into a Marcellus Shale gas joint venture with United States-based Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc.

Reliance will pay a total $392 million, comprising $340 million of cash and $52 million of drilling carry obligations, the company said.

Under the deal, Reliance will acquire a 60-percent interest in Marcellus Shale acreage in Central and Northeast Pennsylvania that is currently held in an equal joint venture between Carrizo and an affiliate of Avista Capital Partners, India's top listed firm said in a statement.

Reliance will acquire all of Avista's stake and 20 percent of Carrizo's stake in the existing joint venture, the statement said.

(Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; editing by Malini Menon)

(For more business news on Reuters India click http://in.reuters.com)

(For Quotes and Interactive Charts of Reliance Industries Ltd http://in.reuters.com/money/quotes/chart?symbol=RELI.BO)