BP sells Venezuela, Vietnam business for Gulf oil spill
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British oil giant BP said Monday it will sell its upstream business and associated interests in Venezuela and Vietnam to its own joint venture in Russia to help cover its Gulf of Mexico oil spill costs.
The agreement with TNK-BP, Russia's third largest oil company, will bring in a total of 1.8 billion U.S. dollars, BP said in a news release Monday.
The agreement includes BP's interests in the Petroperij, Boquern and PetroMonagas joint ventures in Venezuela and, in Vietnam, BP's 35 percent operating interest in the Lan Tay and Lan Do gas fields and associated pipeline and power generation interests.
"The sales are part of BP's plan, announced in July 2010, to make divestments of up to 30 billion dollars by the end of 2011 to help the company meet its financial obligations arising from the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill," BP said.
As part of this program, BP has previously announced agreements to sell assets in Egypt, Canada and U.S. to Apache Corporation for 7 billion dollars and to sell its Colombian exploration, production and transportation business to Talisman and Ecopetrol for 1.9 billion dollars.
An April 20 explosion on BP-leased Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers and unleashed the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
