BP is continuing to dispose of assets to help fund its liability arising from the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico in April. The global energy group has agreed to sell its 60% stake in Pan American Energy, an Argentina-based oil and gas company, to Bridas Corporation for $7.06 billion.
The disposal is part of BP’s plan, announced in July 2010, to divest up to $30 billion of assets by the end of 2011. Before the agreement to sell its shareholding in PAE, BP already had sales agreements in place to sell interests in North America, Egypt, Venezuela, Vietnam and Colombia, which will raise some $14 billion.
According to BP group chief executive Bob Dudley, the agreement “further demonstrates both the high quality and attractiveness of the assets throughout BP’s global portfolio and also the company’s ability to meet our significant financial commitments arising from the Gulf of Mexico tragedy.
BP expects the final cost of the accident and subsequent clean-up of the resulting oil spill to be in the region of $40 billion.
BP will continue to identify further assets that may be strategically more valuable to others in order to complete the programme.