NEW YORK, June 28 (Reuters) - Spanish oil major Repsol

plans to sell a minority interest in its Eagle Ford

shale assets in South Texas, in a deal that could value the

assets at up to $2 billion, three sources familiar with the

talks told Reuters.

The sources said Repsol has hired Scotiabank to assist with

the process, and aims to bring in a partner or partners to hold

so-called non-op positions, earning a cut from sale of

hydrocarbons while paying a share of operating costs. The non-op

partners are not responsible for oil and gas extraction or other

day-to-day operations.

Repsol is open to selling as much as a 49% interest in the

assets, which include over 800 producing wells spread across

about 80,000 net acres with production of about 50,000 barrels

of oil equivalent per day, the sources said.

The company plans to maintain a majority stake and operate

the asset, one of the sources said.

The sources cautioned a transaction of any kind is not

guaranteed, and spoke on condition of anonymity as the talks are

confidential.

Repsol and Scotiabank declined to comment.

Oil and gas companies have enjoyed bumper earnings in the

post-pandemic years, as demand for fossil fuels surged to new

records. Yet some estimate that global oil consumption will peak

as soon as this decade, as the world transitions toward greener

sources of energy.

Major energy companies have been selling non-core oil and

gas assets while bringing in non-op partners on the profitable

positions, allowing them to cut costs and raise cash that can be

used to bolster shareholder returns and invest in alternative

energy sources like biofuels.

Repsol in February detailed plans to focus its upstream

portfolio on areas of 'competitive advantage and higher value'

to prepare the business for a public offering in the U.S. by

2027. It identified the Eagle Ford as one of the core growth

areas.

Also in February, it laid out a plan to return 4.6 billion

euros of cash to shareholders through dividends and buy back

shares worth up to 5.4 billion euros through 2027.

Repsol expects to support that plan by raising around 1.5

billion euros this year through divestitures, stake sales and

rotations.

Reuters reported last month that Repsol and its partner

Santos are exploring the sale of a minority stake in oilfields

they jointly own in Alaska.