BP plans to sell North Sea assets for $1 bn

BP Plc, seeking to cover clean-up costs from its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, is weighing the sale of some North Sea assets that may raise as much as $1 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.

BP may sell some fields and infrastructure in a region where it has operated for more than 40 years, said the person, who declined to be identified because the discussions are private and no decision has been reached. Sheila Williams, a spokeswoman for BP, declined to comment on any North Sea disposals.

“The North Sea remains important to BP globally,” Williams said in a telephone interview. “We intend to be a part of that region for a long time.”

The British oil company is raising capital after the spill at its Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico left it facing a bill projected to reach $40 billion and cost Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward his job. BP last month agreed to sell its 60 per cent interest in Pan American Energy to Argentinean oil and gas company Bridas Corp for $7.06 billion, taking asset sales this year to about $21 billion.

BP rose to the highest since May 28 today, climbing as much as 2.4 per cent to trade at 459 pence as of 11.06 am in London. The stock is still down 30 per cent since the April 20 accident.

North Sea fields
After operating in the North Sea since the mid 1960s, BP has 50 joint ventures with 40 companies and runs more than 30 fields in the UK Continental Shelf and the Norwegian sector, according to its website. BP also operates 10 pipeline systems, the Sullom Voe oil terminal on the Shetland Islands and two gas terminals at Teesside and Dimlington in England. About 60 per cent of UK oil production flows through BP infrastructure, the company says. BP aims to divest as much as $30 billion in assets by the end of next year.