Murphy Oil Corporation has signed a deal to sell its assets in Malaysia, becoming the latest U.S. company to exit projects abroad as it focuses on high-margin opportunities in U.S. shale. Murphy Oil will exit Malaysia after 20 years after it signed a deal with a subsidiary of PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited to sell its two primary Malaysian subsidiaries for US$2.127 billion in cash, payable upon closing and subject to customary closing adjustments, the U.S. firm said on Thursday. Murphy Oil will use the proceeds to return cash to shareholders through share buybacks and to cut debt, while it will be focusing primarily on the Eagle Ford shale play and on its operations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. A total of US$750 million of the remaining proceeds will be “earmarked for U.S. oil-weighted opportunities through potential acquisitions and/or the funding of both deep water projects […]