As a part of its $25bn divestment plan to pivot towards clean energy, British Petroleum (BP) has agreed to sell a 20% stake in Oman’s Block 61 gas block for $2.6bn to Thailand’s national petroleum exploration company, PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP). The sale is likely to be completed in 2021 subject to approval from the Sultanate of Oman. Post sale of the gas block, BP will own 40%, Oman government owned national petroleum investment company OQ 30%, PTTEP 20% and Petronas 10% stake. As part of the strategy, it expects to reduce emissions from its operations by 30-35% by 2030. The new financial framework to support the shift would require BP to generate proceeds of $25bn from disinvestments by 2025. In line with its ‘net zero ambition’, the company completed a sale of $5bn of its petrochemical business to INEOS last year. BP has been present in Oman since 2007 and owns a part of Block 61 and 77. BP’s chief executive officer Bernard Looney said “We are committed to BP’s business in Oman – this agreement allows us to remain at the heart of this world-class development while also making important progress in our global divestment programme.”
BP’s bonds were stable on the secondary markets. Its 4.25% and 4.875% perps were up 0.02 and 0.23 to trade at 109.54 and 107.31.
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