BHP Billiton Ltd., seeking to accelerate the sale of its U.S. shale unit, is prepared to offer the assets in as many as seven packages, including three in the prized Permian Basin, according to people with knowledge of the producer’s plans.
The world’s biggest miner continues to favor a sale of the portfolio to a single buyer, the people said. It values the assets at $10 billion or more, though the Melbourne-based company could also consider a swap of onshore U.S. acreage for offshore wells in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the details are private.