Gazprom's Deputy Chief Executive Alexander Medvedev said the BG holdings could be included in an asset swap deal between Gazprom and Shell that was announced last year. He did not say what the BG holdings were or where they were located.

From February 15, BG Group is part of Royal Dutch Shell. This combination brings together two world-class portfolios creating a more competitive company. We have acquired productive oil and gas projects across countries including Brazil and Australia and will be able to shape a simpler, leaner company. Together we will focus on our core expertise in deep water and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The shareholders of both Royal Dutch Shell PLC and BG Group PLC have approved the proposed merger of the two companies, and the deal is set to close on Feb. 15, some 10 months after it was first reported

Shell has already taken action to cut costs and reduce spending this year by $12 billion, but Tuesday’s announcement of a $33 billion target for next year is $2 billion below the company’s previous guidance.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it would cut about 2,800 jobs to meet a pledge of reducing operating costs by $3.5 billion following its takeover of BG Group Plc.

For China, the opportunity to re-negotiate existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply contracts with Shell, which combined with BG would supply around 30 percent of its imports by 2017, comes at an ideal time because the world's top energy consumer faces a large surfeit over the next five years.

It plans to sell $20 billion of asset in the two years to the end of 2015 and reiterated a plan to dispose off $30 billion from 2016 to 2018, following the acquisition of BG Group.

Shell agreed to buy British rival BG Group for 47 billion pounds ($69.7 billion) in April, in a deal widely seen as an effort by the energy company to adapt to lower prices. The deal will boost Shell's oil and gas reserves by 25 percent and give it a bigger presence in the fast-growing liquefied natural gas market.

Investors’s fears that Royal Dutch Shell will fail to complete its planned £43bn acquisition of BG Group have been exaggerated, Shell’s chief executive has said.

Shares in BG Group rose as much as 42 percent in early trade after Royal Dutch Shell agreed to pay that amount (47 billion pounds) for its smaller rival, making it the biggest deal in the sector in more than a decade.