BP (BP +2.90%) has agreed to sell more than $ 1 billion in North Sea assets to TAQA, the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company. The sale is for $1.058 billion plus future payments that could exceed $250 million, the company announced today.
This sale of BP interests in central North Sea oil and gas fields is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2013. BP is at the tail end of a divestment plan in which it aims to sell $38 billion worth of assets between 2010 and 2013. With this agreement, BP has agreed to sell $37 billion in assets. The company wants to focus more on its core competencies and high-growth areas.
BP plans to invest $10 billion in the North Sea over the next five years. It decided to sell its 70% interest in the BP-operated Harding field, for instance, because "it is isolated from the rest of BP’s portfolio and will require significant investment and resource to develop its gas reserves."
TAQA says the acquisition is expected to increase its net production by 21,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
