BusinessAnadarko and Shell may end Texas tie-upTexas oilfields where Shell and Anadarko plied their trade Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesBy Lucy Tobin27 March 2017Oil giants Royal Dutch Shell and Anadarko could divorce their decade-long joint venture in the largest oil field in the United States in a bid to accelerate discoveries.Texas’s Anadarko and London-listed Shell’s deal over the oil-rich Permian Basin in Texas goes back to 2007, but Shell insiders said the pair are considering splitting up their co-working deal and re-parcelling acreage so each oil major drills and develops wells solo.The Permian’s cheap operating costs have made it a hot prospect as crude prices linger under $50 per barrel.Shell plans to raise its North American shale output by 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day over three years.Anadarko would become the operator of the duo’s 350,000-plus acre plot in the Permian, with about a 60% stake.MORE ABOUTShell