BP sells up as North Sea oil flow slows
thebusinessonline.com
By : Richard Orange And Iain Dey September 04, 2005
BP IS to sell its first UK North Sea oilfield in more than two years. The news, which could start a wave of companies moving out of the province, comes in the wake of Kerr-McGee’s $3.5bn (£2bn, E2.9bn) exit from the North Sea last month.
Executives from the oil major’s London office have been on a global roadshow travelling as far as Tokyo to offer its 33% stake in the UK portion of the Statfjord field, worth as much as $100m. BP is aiming for a sale by the end of this year, before moving on to sell other peripheral UK assets.
The company’s plans have emerged as a leading corporate advisory firm has been hired to sell the UK portfolios of two foreign oil companies.
As many as five other established North Sea players are believed to be considering an exodus from the maturing basin, with US firms Amerada Hess, Murphy Oil, ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil all thought to be likely contenders.
News of the potential North Sea shake-up comes ahead of the results of the latest North Sea licensing round, which will be revealed by Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks on Tuesday. Some industry sources fear smaller firms may have been edged out of the bidding after concerns about financing.
The managing director of a North Sea oil company said: “BP came to our offices in July offering Statfjord. We didn’t like it because of the decommissioning costs. They’ll surely be offloading something else by next year.”
Of the US companies, Murphy is considered the most likely to sell – because it needs to plough its cash into developing recent discoveries in Malaysia. Its 10,000 barrel per day portfolio is expected to fetch around £220m.
Amerada Hess drew up plans to exit the North Sea at the end of last year, but postponed the move to benefit from strong cash flow created by the current high oil prices.
The news confirms that North Sea players who have been holding on to otherwise unwanted oil fields to benefit from high oil prices are increasingly deciding that now is the right time to sell.
Bids are also due in this week for UK firm Caledonia Oil & Gas, which has been put up for sale by US private equity firm First Reserve. It is understood that initial offers to the selling agent ABN Amro were in the region of £300m.
By : Richard Orange And Iain Dey September 04, 2005
BP IS to sell its first UK North Sea oilfield in more than two years. The news, which could start a wave of companies moving out of the province, comes in the wake of Kerr-McGee’s $3.5bn (£2bn, E2.9bn) exit from the North Sea last month.
Executives from the oil major’s London office have been on a global roadshow travelling as far as Tokyo to offer its 33% stake in the UK portion of the Statfjord field, worth as much as $100m. BP is aiming for a sale by the end of this year, before moving on to sell other peripheral UK assets.
The company’s plans have emerged as a leading corporate advisory firm has been hired to sell the UK portfolios of two foreign oil companies.
As many as five other established North Sea players are believed to be considering an exodus from the maturing basin, with US firms Amerada Hess, Murphy Oil, ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil all thought to be likely contenders.
News of the potential North Sea shake-up comes ahead of the results of the latest North Sea licensing round, which will be revealed by Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks on Tuesday. Some industry sources fear smaller firms may have been edged out of the bidding after concerns about financing.
The managing director of a North Sea oil company said: “BP came to our offices in July offering Statfjord. We didn’t like it because of the decommissioning costs. They’ll surely be offloading something else by next year.”
Of the US companies, Murphy is considered the most likely to sell – because it needs to plough its cash into developing recent discoveries in Malaysia. Its 10,000 barrel per day portfolio is expected to fetch around £220m.
Amerada Hess drew up plans to exit the North Sea at the end of last year, but postponed the move to benefit from strong cash flow created by the current high oil prices.
The news confirms that North Sea players who have been holding on to otherwise unwanted oil fields to benefit from high oil prices are increasingly deciding that now is the right time to sell.
Bids are also due in this week for UK firm Caledonia Oil & Gas, which has been put up for sale by US private equity firm First Reserve. It is understood that initial offers to the selling agent ABN Amro were in the region of £300m.
posted by Marcel at 3:10 PM
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