GFKSY Gulf Keystone Pete Ltd (PK)

   DOW JONES 
 

Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) is reportedly considering a 7 billion pound ($10.9 billion) bid for British oil explorer Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (GKP.LN).

The British newspaper the Independent on Sunday said Exxon had "sounded out" Gulf Keystone, which has made large oil discoveries in the semiautonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq, about a potential deal.

The paper did not cite its sources in the report.

Exxon Mobil, the Irving, Texas, integrated oil major, declined to comment on the report in an emailed statement to Reuters.

-Kate Gibson; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com