Royal Dutch Shell is in advanced talks with a party interested in buying its onshore operations in Gabon as part of the company’s $30b divestment plan, informed Energy Voice. This comes after Shell’s purchase of BG Group, which was completed in February.

Bids for the Gabon fields were estimated to be worth around $700m, reported Reuters.

The oil and gas group, which plans to exit operations in 5 to 10 countries, has made relatively slow progress in its divestments as uncertainty over oil’s outlook has dampened buyer enthusiasm for deals at the prices it is targeting. So far this year, Shell has sold or agreed to sell around $6b of assets.

Shell declined to comment on the identity of the potential buyer, but banking sources said that Carlyle Group, the world’s largest private equity fund, and Perenco, an independent European oil and gas company, reached the second bidding round for the assets.

Shell has been operating in Gabon for more than 50 years, and its holdings in the west African country include the Rabi Kounga and Gamba fields.