UPDATE 2-Sempra, RBS mull commodities trader sale -sources

* Considering sale of whole business-sources

* Sempra seeking more than $3 billion for whole business-WSJ

* Sempra declines comment on price, says all options open

(Adds further quotes from sources, Sempra comment, details)

By Steve Slater and Emma Farge

LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Sempra Energy (SRE.N) and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS.L) are exploring the sale of their joint commodities trading business, RBS Sempra Commodities, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

RBS said on Nov. 3 it would sell its 51 percent interest in the venture and adviser Lazard (LAZ.N) is now considering the sale of the whole business, the sources said. [ID:nL3540088]

RBS was forced to sell its half of the joint venture by European Commission (EC) regulators, as part of Brussels' approval for the state aid provided to the British bank.

San Diego-based utility company Sempra is seeking more than $3 billion for the entire business, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday, citing people close to the process.

A Sempra spokesman declined to comment to Reuters on the reports, citing company policy, and also declined to comment on the $3 billion price tag.

"We continue to see the commodities business as an important part of our business model. All options remain on the table for us," he said.

"We are pleased with the amount of interest we have seen."

TIMING OF DEAL

RBS is pressing to have a deal done in the next several weeks and more than 20 banks and non-financial firms had expressed an interest, the newspaper said.

Among those taking a close look were JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), Barclays Plc (BARC.L), Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Societe Generale (SOGN.PA), the paper reported. Several large oil companies are also considering a bid, it added.

Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters the joint venture was unlikely to appeal as a single entity and would probably be sold in smaller parts.

The biggest contributor to operating income in the April-December 2008 period was natural gas ($534 million), followed by oil trading ($357 million), according to Sempra Energy's full-year 2008 accounts. "Nobody will take a behemoth like this," said a source, adding that rival trading houses are instead likely to exploit the period of uncertainty and cherry pick the best traders.

Since the start of the third quarter, eleven energy traders have left RBS Sempra to join trading houses or banks this year. Five are known to have been replaced. [ID:nNN2831316]

A second source told Reuters that the joint venture was unlikely to appeal to banks already established in commodities trading because of potential business overlaps.

"You can't take a firm like Morgan Stanley and add RBS Sempra and expect it all to settle down. There's too much overlap," he said.

A spokesman for RBS said: "Following the decision of the EC we appointed advisers to help us review our options for RBS Sempra. This JV is a very successful business so we expect that there will be a number of parties who will want to speak with us on this matter."

A spokesman for Lazard declined to comment. (Additional reporting by Alex Lawler and Ikuko Kurahone in London, with Santosh Nadgir in Bangalore and Matthew Daily in New York; Editing by xxx) ((steve.slater@reuters.com; +44 207 542 4367; Reuters Messaging: steve.slater.reuters.com@reuters.net))