BP sells Colombia assets for $1.9bn

3rd Aug 2010 13:44

BP has agreed to sell its oil and gas assets in Colombia for $1.9bn (£1.2bn), as the oil giant continues its programme of asset sales in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. It is selling the exploration, production and transportation business to a consortium combining Colombia's national oil company Ecopetrol and Canada's Talisman.The sale is part of BP's plan, announced on July 27, to divest up to $30bn of assets over the next 18 months. BP said on July 20 that it had agreed to sell assets in the USA, Canada, and Egypt to Apache Corporation for a total of $7bn. It has also recently informed governments in Pakistan and Vietnam that it intends to divest its upstream interests in those countries.Tony Hayward, who is stepping down as chief executive of BP on October 1, said he was 'delighted' with the price BP is getting for the assets.'It now makes sense for the assets to go to owners more willing than BP to invest in their future development,' he said.The departure of Hayward, who has been under severe pressure since the start of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in April, was announced last week as BP unveiled a pre-tax loss of $16.97bn for the second quarter, compared to a profit of $3.14bn the year before. It took a $32.2bn charge for the Deepwater Horizon disaster, including the $20bn it has already committed to putting in escrow.