BP said yesterday it had agreed to sell its southern North Sea assets in a £251.7million deal but added it was still committed to developing around the UK.
The oil giant will transfer manned and unmanned platforms off the coast of Yorkshire and a terminal at Dimlington to Perenco UK as it looks to pay for the Deepwater Horizon spill.
BP said in February last year it was to sell off its stakes in most oil and gas operations south of the border but also said there was no intention for disposals among its Scottish assets, which are seen as core to its future. It still has ambitious plans for the North Sea and is building four major projects in UK waters and two near Norway as part of a £10billion investment over five years with other major players in the industry. The projects, which include the Clair field west of Shetland, represent BP’s biggest annual investment in the UK offshore industry.
At their peak, it is expected that the projects will provide 3,000 UK oil and gas supply jobs and play a part in sustaining the 3,000-plus jobs already in the oil giant’s North Sea operations. About 200 staff working at the assets being sold will transfer to Perenco on completion of the deal, which is expected before the year-end.
Trevor Garlick, regional president for BP North Sea, said: “Actively managing our portfolio allows us to concentrate our people, capabilities and investment on sustaining BP’s business in the North Sea for the long term.”
The sale means BP has now sold £14.4billion of assets as part of plans to raise about £24billion between 2010 and the end of 2013.
It faces a £27billion bill for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.
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