British oil major BP is considering JVs with potential partners to boost production from its natural gas assets in the US, reported Reuters, citing sources with direct knowledge of the talks.

The move comes as the company looks to reduce expenses.

In recent weeks, bp held talks with several undisclosed companies about potential joint operations in the Haynesville shale gas basin, according to three sources.

The oil major is also exploring creating JVs for operations in the Eagle Ford basin. The JVs could focus on parts of land of different sizes.

However, for now the talks exclude bp’s assets in the oil-rich Permian basin, two of the sources noted.

bp anticipates the expansion of operations as part of a JV will allow the involved parties to undertake more drilling work and longer shale wells to increase production, while sharing costs.

The British oil major is planning to invest around $2.5bn (£2.06bn) annually to strengthen its shale business.

By the end of this decade, the company plans to double production to 650,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) from 2022 levels.

The oil company is also planning to boost renewable and low-carbon energy businesses to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades.

Recently, Bloomberg News reported that bp plans to sell a stake in the Yakaar-Teranga gas field offshore Senegal to Kosmos Energy.

Currently, bp holds an operatorship stake of 60% in the field, Kosmos Energy holds a 30% stake and Petrosen, Senegal’s state-owned oil company, owns a 10% interest.