Royal Dutch Shell moved to bolster its position in Canada's booming oil and gas industry yesterday with the £2.9 billion acquisition of Duvernay Oil.

The Anglo-Dutch oil giant said it had made a cash offer of C$83 (£41) a share for Duvernay, valuing it at about C$5.9 billion, which has been unanimously accepted by Duvernay's board. Founded in 2001, Calgary-based Duvernay has a powerful presence in so-called tight gas, a form of natural gas that is found in less permeable rock structures than conventional gas and is difficult to extract.

Although more expensive to produce than conventional gas, tight gas has become increasingly economic as energy prices have risen.

Duvernay has 1,800 square kilometres of landholdings in four areas of the mountainous states of Alberta and British Columbia. The company produces about 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, mainly as gas, and plans to increase this to 70,000 barrels by 2012.

If approved by shareholders, the acquisition will almost double Shell's North American gas production, which stands at about 80,000 barrels.

The acquisition will also cement Shell's position in Alberta, where it already has a sizeable presence associated with its oil sands.

Jeroen van der Veer, Shell's chief executive, said: “Duvernay could become a valuable part of the Shell portfolio, where we can add value through technology and scale. The combination of Duvernay's acreage with Shell's proven operating experience and financing capabilities make this transaction attractive to all shareholders.”

Unlike conventional gasfields, tight gas reservoirs are poorly connected so engineers need to drill hundreds of wells to create artificial fractures in the rock. They then use specialist techniques such as horizontal drilling to stimulate production. Shell said that tight gas deposits had lower exploration risk than conventional oil and gas and could sustain production for longer periods, although they were more expensive.

Shell is already a major player in the industry in North America, with production in Canada, Wyoming and Texas. It is also developing sites in Louisiana. “Shell sees itself as a leader in tight gas so this deal makes a lot of sense for them,” one oil and gas banker said.

The directors of Duvernay have committed to selling their own shares, representing 18.1 per cent of Duvernay. However, the deal remains subject to approval from regulators and other shareholders.

Canada has proven natural gas reserves of 59 trillion cubic feet, according to BP. It has 163 billion barrels of oil equivalent in the form of tar sands, making the country the world's second-largest holder of oil reserves after Saudi Arabia.

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