By Ron Bousso, Jessica Resnick-Ault and David French
(Reuters) -Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell is reviewing its holdings in the largest oil field in the United States for a possible sale as the company looks to focus on its most profitable oil-and-gas assets and grow its low-carbon investments, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The sale could be for part or all of Shell’s about 260,000 acres (105,200 hectares) in the Permian Basin, located mostly in Texas. The holdings could be worth as much as $10 billion, the sources said, on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.
Shell declined to comment.
Shell is one of the world’s largest oil companies, all of which have been under pressure from investors to reduce fossil-fuel investments to stem changes to the global climate brought on by carbon emissions. Shell, BP Plc and TotalEnergies have pledged to lower emissions through increased investment in renewables while divesting some oil and gas holdings.
Mergers and acquisitions activity in the top U.S. shale field jumped in the last year as some firms sought to bolster holdings and others looked to take advantage of rising prices to sell. U.S. oil futures are up 49% this year to nearly $72 per barrel, more than double their 2020 low as oil demand returned with the pandemic ebbing.
Earlier this year, Shell set out one of the sector’s most ambitious climate strategies, with a target to cut the carbon intensity of its products by at least 6% by 2023, 20% by 2030,…
