Japan’s JAPEX has struck a deal to buy shale oil and gas asset owner Verdad Resources Intermediate Holdings for $1.3 billion, Reuters has reported, adding the company will finance the deal with a combination of cash and debt. Verdad Resources Intermediate Holdings has assets in Wyoming and Colorado, which currently produce at a rate of 35,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily. JAPEX plans to ramp this up to 50,000 barrels daily by 2030, the report said. The news follows an earlier report about JERA boosting its exposure to U.S. shale oil and…