Looking to sell about $30 billion in assets to raise capital to pay for its liabilities in the Gulf oil spill, BP has considered selling assets in a number of countries, including Pakistan, Vietnam, Canada, Egypt, and in South America, Colombia.
With a 60 percent stake in PAE, one of BP's strongest assets in South America, the company could possibly raise $12 billion alone, with PAE being recently valued at close to $20 billion.
Holding the other 40 percent stake in PAE is Bridas of Argentina.
Where CNOOC comes into the picture is they recently acquired a 50 percent stake in Bridas, revealing an interest in PAE. If BP decides to sell their stake in the company, they could, along with the other $9 billion in assets they've already committed to selling, bring the total to over two-thirds of what their asset-selling goal is.
Some analysts think it's unlikely that CNOOC would acquire BP's stake in PAE, because of taxes in Argentina.
Reserves at PAE are rising, and it is an attractive asset, although it could be put up for sale by BP, as it isn't considered as important as some of its other assets, and could bring a good price.
No comments:
Post a Comment