Washington, March 17 (IANS) India's Reliance Industries Ltd. is nearing a deal to buy a big stake in a large US natural-gas field, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Under the deal as considered, Reliance would pay between $1 billion and $1.5 billion to take a joint venture stake with Pittsburgh-based Atlas Energy Inc, the Journal said citing several people familiar with the matter.

The deal with Atlas, which controls about 584,000 acres in the expansive Marcellus Shale, a huge gas-bearing formation that stretches from West Virginia to New York, would make Reliance the first Indian company to buy into the Marcellus region, the daily said.

The exact size of Reliance's stake wasn't clear, but Atlas is said to be seeking a 50-50 partner, the the people cited by the Journal said adding, talks between Reliance and Atlas are continuing and the deal isn't final.

While Reliance is currently the prime participant in discussions, other parties such as Sempra Energy are also negotiating to be part of the deal, these people said.

An Atlas spokesman confirmed to the Journal that the company is exploring possible joint-venture deals but wouldn't comment further. Manoj Warrier, a Reliance spokesman, declined to comment, it said.

Reliance, run by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, has made multiple attempts to acquire North American assets in recent months, the Journal noted. Last month, the company bid $2 billion for a stake in Canadian oil producer Value Creation Inc., but ultimately lost out to British energy giant BP PLC.