Anadarko Petroleum is considering the sale of its holdings in oil and gas projects in China in a deal that could be valued at about $1 billion, sources familiar with the matter said, as it eyes ploughing money back into the US market.

Houston-based Anadarko, which owns about a 35 per cent interest in production and development projects in China’s Bohai Bay, joins a list of US oil companies seeking to raise cash to invest back home.

CNOOC is seen a potential buyer of Anadarko’s interests, one of the sources told Reuters. CNOOC was not immediately available for comment.

Anadarko declined to comment. The sources declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to media.

Last year, Anadarko transferred day-to-day operations of the projects to its joint venture partner CNOOC as part of an earlier agreement.

The company’s Chinese fields produced about 32,300 BOPD (barrels of oil per day) in the second quarter and is expected to average between 32,000 to 35,000 BOPD for the remainder of 2013, according to the company’s second-quarter production report. China has the smallest producing fields among Anadarko’s international operations.

At least two other US oil companies, including Newfield Exploration and Hess Corp, have put part of their Asian oil and gas fields on the block this year. The retreat is not limited to independent oil and gas producers, as even some of the world’s top five integrated oil companies are cutting back on expensive projects. Some of the sales are in part driven by activist shareholders, who are agitating for more returns. Anadarko also has a 50 per cent interest in the South China Sea exploration acreage and it was not clear if the company was weighing a sale of that asset.

In August, Anadarko sold down a 10 per cent interest in a gas field offshore Mozambique for $2.64 billion. Anadarko will remain the operator of the block, located in Mozambique’s deepwater Rovuma Basin, with a working interest of 26.5 per cent.