India's largest listed firm with interests including oil and gas exploration, refining, petrochemicals and retail may pick up 40 percent in the joint venture, said the sources, who declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak with the media.
The companies have been holding talks for a deal, and Reliance could make a formal proposal to Atlas soon, the sources said.
Independent oil and gas company Atlas had been looking for a partner for its operations in the booming Marcellus Shale in the eastern United States, while Reliance was eyeing a deal in the wake of two recent failures in trying to gain a foothold outside India.
The Marcellus Shale, which spans parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York, could hold enough natural gas to satisfy U.S. demand for a decade, according to some geologists.
Atlas' core Marcellus position consists of 266,000 acres, largely in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Reliance has raised $2 billion by selling stock in recent months, a warchest it could put to use for its ambitious overseas plans. It was not immediately clear how Reliance planned to fund the deal, but the sources said the company would have no problems financing the deal.
Barclays is advising Reliance on the sale, the sources said.
Shares in Reliance closed up 1.8 percent on Friday, while the Mumbai market rose 1.2 percent.
Atlas Energy shares closed at $31.81 on Thursday on Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Pratish Narayanan and Indulal P.M.; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)
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