Shell said to appoint Lazard to advise on asset sales

Reuters cited banking and industry sources as saying that Shell has also chosen Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley to work on the proposed asset sales, with more banks potentially in the pipeline.

A Shell spokesman confirmed to Reuters that Lazard has been brought in under a new mandate to advise its merger and acquisition team on the company's divestment strategy.

It also confirmed BofA Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley have been appointed to work on some assets sales.

"We don't have a broker relationship with any one bank. We choose banks on project-by-project basis, on the basis of price and suitability. We expect several banks to bid for and get transaction mandates for our $30bn asset sale programme," the Shell spokesman said.

Shell announced last year that it plans to sell up to $30bn of assets by 2018 as it looks to cut debt and raise funds for payouts to shareholders.