International asset management group IKAV has agreed to acquire Bakersfield, CA-based independent Aera Energy LLC from joint owners Shell plc and ExxonMobil, the energy companies reported Thursday.

Accounting for nearly one-quarter of California’s oil and gas output from about 13,000 wells, Aera is 51.8% owned by Shell and 48.2% by ExxonMobil.

Shell said it expects to garner about $2 billion from selling its Aera interest. 

“We have not disclosed the details around our portion of the sale – we’re likely to do so on our next earnings call,” an ExxonMobil spokesperson told NGI.

Shell said the Aera sale would mark the end of its California upstream position. The ExxonMobil spokesperson told NGI the company still holds the Santa Ynez Unit, a trio of offshore...