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Shell, Blackstone eye $10 bln bid for BHP U.S. shale assets: Sky News

Reuters  |  HOUSTON 

By Sangameswaran S and Jessica Resnick-Ault

HOUSTON (Reuters) - and U.S. private equity firm are working on a joint $10 billion bid for BHP Billiton Plc's U.S. shale assets, said on Thursday.

Shell and Blackstone's offer will only be one of several credible proposals that BHP will receive for its U.S. shale operations, said, citing banking sources.

BHP, Shell and Blackstone declined to comment.

Private equity companies have been active buyers of U.S. shale producing assets in recent years. This week, said it sold some in for $553 million to a buyer that identified as a private equity firm. Devon did not disclose the name of the buyer.

BHP's acreage is located adjacent to assets controlled by Shell and in the Permian Basin of west and Anadarko bid late last year on BHP's onshore properties, according to two people familiar with the transaction.

Anadarko did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Steve Pastor, BHP's president for petroleum operations, said this week the company would consider swapping certain onshore assets with competitors' offshore assets as part of its effort to exit U.S. shale operations.

BHP, the world's largest miner, said last month it expected to receive initial bids for the operations in the June quarter.

The company last year said it would exit its underperforming U.S. shale business after coming under pressure from Sydney-based to sell the assets.

Activist hedge fund has also called for BHP'S exit from shale to free up capital.

(Reporting by in Bengaluru and Jessica Resnick-in Houston; Editing by Susan Fenton, Mark Potter and Cynthia Osterman)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Fri, March 09 2018. 01:42 IST
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