BP sells North Sea gas assets for $400 million

LONDON - Agence France-Presse

British energy group BP on Tuesday said it had agreed to sell assets including gas fields in the North Sea to Anglo-French peer Perenco for $400 million (300 million euros) in cash.
 
The deal to sell southern gas assets (SGA) further helps BP to unlock billions of dollars to meet compensation costs linked to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill caused by a blast on the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon platform.
 
"We are pleased to have reached this agreement" with Perenco, Trevor Garlick, regional president for BP North Sea, said in a statement.
 
"Perenco is committed to investing in and developing SGA beyond BP's plans, ultimately providing a longer-term future for the assets and the people who work there." BP added that including the latest sale, it had raised $23 billion from disposals of assets since 2010 -- still some way behind a target of $38 billion it hopes to meet by the end of next year -- to meet its oil spill costs.