Shells plan to possibly acquire the old arch-rival has been discussed for several weeks, reports Bloomberg with reference to anonymous sources.
The BP share has fallen by over 30 per cent in one year and the oil company's market value is thus down to 56 billion pounds (approximately 717 billion kronor), while Shell has dropped by 13 per cent to 149 billion pounds during the same period.
BP – which is also being pressed by the activist fund Elliott Investment Management, which has bought up over 5 per cent of the shares – has financial targets that are based on a global market price for oil of 70 dollars per barrel. This can be compared to today's slightly over 60 dollars per barrel.
