Exxon Gulf of Mexico Sale Is Said to Draw Repsol, Ineos Interest

(Bloomberg) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. has drawn interest from Repsol SA and closely held U.K. petrochemical company Ineos Group Holdings in a package of oil fields it's selling in the Gulf of Mexico, according to people familiar with the matter.

The assets could be worth as much as $1.5 billion, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. A sale to Spain’s Repsol would expand its existing position in the prolific offshore region, while for Ineos it would mark its debut as an oil and gas producer in the Gulf. The U.K. company already has petrochemical plants in the southern U.S.

A sale agreement could be signed in as soon as month, the people said, although no deal has been agreed upon so far and the talks could still fall apart. Exxon, Ineos and Repsol declined to comment on the talks.

Oil majors regularly shed assets as they become older and less material to their large balance sheets. Exxon said in October that it was "testing market interest" in a number of operated and non-operated producing assets in the Gulf.

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