By David French

(Reuters) – U.S. shale oil and fuel producers Oasis Petroleum (NASDAQ:) Inc and Whiting Petroleum (NYSE:) Corp are near agreeing an all-stock merger that may very well be introduced as quickly as this week, a supply aware of the matter stated on Sunday.

The mixed worth of the 2 corporations could be round $6.07 billion, in line with Reuters calculations primarily based upon Friday’s closing costs, which valued Oasis at $2.80 billion and Whiting at $3.27 billion.

The individual with information of the matter spoke on situation of anonymity in an effort to talk about personal data.

The deal talks between the pair, which each function within the Bakken shale formation of North Dakota, come amid a major spike in costs on the again of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Each and U.S. benchmarks quickly hit their highest ranges since 2008 as buying and selling started the week in Asia, as the US and European allies mulled a Russian oil import ban in response to the battle, which Russia calls a “particular operation”. [O/R]

The Wall Avenue Journal had earlier reported the talks between Oasis and Whiting.

Oasis Petroleum and Whiting Petroleum didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Each corporations filed for Chapter 11 chapter in 2020 after the vitality trade reeled beneath an unprecedented crash in oil costs because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Whiting the primary publicly traded shale producer to file for chapter when it did so in April of that yr.

Final yr, oil and fuel pipeline operator Crestwood Fairness (NYSE:) Companions LP stated it will purchase Oasis Petroleum’s midstream unit in a $1.8 billion deal.