Staff members work at the booth of Royal Dutch Shell at Gastech, the world's biggest expo for the gas industry, in Chiba, Japan, April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai - RTX33Y86

LONDON (Reuters) - The European Commission approved on Friday Royal Dutch Shell's RDSa.L $3.8 billion sale of North Sea oil and gas assets to private equity-backed Chrysaor.

“The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns, because of its limited impact on the market structure,” the Commission said in a statement.

Shell welcomed the “important milestone” toward the completion of the deal which is expected in the second half of this year.