Shell places US Gulf of Mexico assets up for sale

Representative image: (Source: Reuters)

Shell is exploring a sale of its stakes in two US Gulf of Mexico oil and gas developments which could raise as much as $1.5 billion for the energy major, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Potential divestments of some aging assets would allow the company to focus on newer and larger fields around the world, including its giant Whale development in the Gulf which is expected to start production in 2024, the sources said.

The London-based company is targeting a valuation of around $1.5 billion from the sale of the fields, which have a combined output of around 50,000 barrels per day, two of the sources added.

Shell also has sought this year to divest stakes in two clusters of gas fields in the southern British North Sea, Reuters reported in February.

Last month, Shell said it had suspended plans to sell its onshore oil assets in Nigeria, to comply with a Nigerian Supreme Court ruling that it had to wait for the outcome of an appeal over a 2019 oil spill.