BP to Sell Stakes in North Sea Fields to Japan's Mitsui

BP PLC (IW 1000/3) on Tuesday said it has agreed to sell the group's minority stakes in two North Sea oil and gas fields to Japanese conglomerate Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (IW 1000/270) for $280 million in cash.

The sale, which BP expects to complete by the end of September subject to regulatory approval, comprises the sale of its 13.3% stake in the Alba field and a 8.97% stake in Britannia.

BP production from the two fields averages about 7,000 barrels of oil and gas per day, the company added in a statement.

"The divestments are part of our strategy to develop a more focused business in the U.K. and Norway," said Trevor Garlick, regional president for BP North Sea.

The deal meanwhile helps BP to meet massive compensation costs linked to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill caused by a blast on the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon platform.

BP has so far raised $24 billion from disposals to meet its compensation costs -- still some way behind a target of $38 billion by the end of next year.

The group on Monday announced a deal to sell its Jonah gas operations in Wyoming to Linn Energy LLC for $1.03 billion in cash.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012