Shell nears another $5 billion in sales to ease debt load

By Karolin Schaps and Ron Bousso LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell is close to selling assets totalling $5 billion to cut debt following its acquisition of BG Group, the oil major said on Thursday as it reported its lowest full-year earnings in more than a decade. Dealmaking in the oil and gas sector has been muted for more than two years due to collapsing oil prices, but as crude prices recover buyers and sellers are starting to agree on price tags. For Shell, disposals of $3 billion (£