A cadre of oil companies, seeing continued profits in shale, are mulling Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDSa.L) holdings in the largest U.S. oil field as the European giant considers an exit from the Permian Basin, according to market experts. The potential sale of Shell’s Permian holdings, located in Texas, would be a litmus test of whether rivals are willing to bet on shale’s profitability through the energy transition to reduce carbon emissions. Shell would follow in the footsteps of other producers, including Equinor (EQNR.OL) and Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N) that have shed shale assets this year, looking to cut debt and reduce carbon output in the face of investor pressure. Shell, which declined to confirm a Reuters report on Sunday that it was weighing the blockbuster sale of its Texas shale assets, also did not comment for this story. To showcase its 260,000 acres (105,200 […]