Shell is in "advanced discussions" to acquire UK energy firm BG Group, BG said today.
Shell has until 5 May to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for BG or that it will not make an offer, BG said in a statement.
"There can be no certainty that any offer will ultimately be made for BG," BG said. Shell declined to comment.
BG has a market capitalization of about $46bn while Shell's is close to $192bn.
Both BG and Shell have cut spending plans and written down billions of dollars in assets in the past year in response to the steep drop in crude prices.
In February BG said it will reduce its capital investment on a cash basis to $6bn-7bn in 2015 from $9.4bn last year, resulting from the completion of projects and lower oil prices.
tdf/dcb
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