Shell has clarified it has not been actively considering making an offer for bp.
The oil and gas major said it has not made an approach to, and no talks have taken place with bp with regards to a possible offer.
"No talks are taking place. As we have said many times before, we are sharply focused on capturing the value in Shell through continuing to focus on performance, discipline and simplification," a Shell spokesperson said.
There have been repeated assertions by CEO Wael Sawan that Shell had a very high bar for big acquisitions and buying back shares was a better allocation of money than the possibility of buying bp.
bp has been the subject of takeover talks for several years because of its stock's relative underperformance, but analysis of its disclosures shows that the British energy group may not be as cheap as its market valuation would suggest.
Shell denies making a bid for oil and gas rivals bp
