UK-based oil major, BP, has taken another step closer to its asset disposal target with the sale of four oil fields.
BP's Thunder Horse rig in the Gulf Image: BP |
The sale, worth $5.5bn, will see Houston-based drilling company, Plains Exploration and Production (PEP) take control of four major fields in the Gulf of Mexico.
The sale also brings BP to within $6bn of its stated $38bn asset sales target, announced in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010.
Plains will take control of three fields - Marlin, Dorado and Horn Mountain - which are owned outright by BP. The fourth site, Holstein, is a 50-50 venture between BP and Shell. Plains will take complete ownership of the field by paying Shell an additional $560m for its share. According to analysts, the deal appears well priced in BP's favour, with the fields estimated to produce 50,000b/d from an eight-year reserve.
Plains will finance the deal largely through borrowing and will also gain BP's stakes - of around 30% - in two non-operated assets. However, BP has made it clear that it will continue its activities in the Gulf, seeing it as a "key part of BP's exploration strategy" according to CEO, Bob Dudley. He also stated that the company would continue to invest $40bn in the area over the next ten years, having won 43 new drilling leases in the Gulf in June this year. Production will focus around four main areas in the region and include the use of BP's Thunder Horse and Mad Dog platforms.