BHP is said to mull shale split to speed $10bn sale

BHP Billiton, seeking to accelerate the sale of its US 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 favour 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 US acreage for offshore wells in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the details are private.