WELLINGTON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The Maui Mining Companies,majority owned by energy giant Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), saidTuesday it would sell the Maui natural gas pipeline toinfrastructure funds managed by First State Investments forNZ$335 million ($226.49 million).
The Maui natural gas pipeline transports around 78 percentof all natural gas produced in New Zealand and has beenoperating for more than 35 years. First State Investments is anAustralian based global infrastructure asset manager.
The sale is conditional on certain regulatory approvalsbeing obtained by First State Investments but the parties hopeto finalise the transaction by the middle of 2016, Shell NewZealand said in a statement.
Earlier this month the energy giant announced it wasreviewing its business interests in New Zealand as the companyseeks to streamline its global portfolio amid a slump in energyprices.
The Anglo Dutch firm is focusing on large growthopportunities, with deep water and integrated gas as priorities,after announcing plans to raise $50 billion (33 billion pounds)from asset sales between 2014 and 2018 while cutting jobs andcosts.
On Tuesday it underscored that the future of the pipelinehas been under consideration for a long time and is separatefrom the recently announced review of the Shell New Zealandbusiness.
Shell holds a 83.75 stake in the pipeline, OMV NZ, a unit ofAustria's OMV has a 10 percent stake while privatelyowned Todd Corp's Todd Energy holds 6.25 percent.
Shell has been in New Zealand for more than 100 years and isthe country's largest gas producer, with stakes in the Maui,Kapuni and Pohokura fields in Taranaki and a deepwaterexploration licence in the Great South Basin.
($1 = 1.4791 New Zealand dollars) (Reporting by Rebecca Howard)