US Markets
Home›US Markets›M&A & Deals›BP puts North Sea oil and gas business up for sale
BP puts North Sea oil and gas business up for sale
The disposal is part of BP’s push to cut net debt below $18bn by year end, after profits more than doubled to $5.7bn in the quarter ended June 30.
BP is putting its 60-year-old North Sea oil and gas business up for sale, with new boss Meg O’Neill saying the assets do not “compete” for capital within the company’s priorities.
The Guardian Business reports BP is also working through a wider portfolio pruning that includes the sale process for its US biogas business, Archaea, which BP acquired for $4bn less than four years ago, plus moves that have already seen exits from a major refinery in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Austrian fuel stations, and a lubricants business exit involving Castrol.
BP’s asset disposals are happening as the company targets net debt below $18bn by the end of the year, 12 months ahead of schedule. The outlet adds that the process has been supported by a surge in oil and gas profits and cash flow.
According to The Guardian Business, BP’s profits more than doubled to $5.73bn in the three months to the end of June, and BP sold oil at an average of $94 a barrel in the second quarter, up from $67 in the prior period.