Pakistan Official: Government May Mull Buying BP Assets In Country

23rd Jul 2010 09:32

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--BP PLC (BP) has informally informed the government of Pakistan of a possible sale of its assets in the country as part of its global campaign to raise money to clean up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and pay for damages, the head of the country's upstream regulator said Friday. BP has yet to take a final decision and request formal approval from the government, but Pakistan's government could consider buying the company's assets through state-run firms, Naeem Malik, head of the Directorate General of Petroleum Concessions, told Dow Jones Newswires. "Instead of these assets going to others, we think why not the government or our public sector companies buy them? Of course, we have to see the financial costs first," he said. Malik said the oil ministry would take up the proposal to acquire the company's assets if and when BP decides to seek formal approval. "They told us about the possible asset sale only a few days ago, so it'll still take us some time to start due diligence," Malik said. BP produces a substantial chunk of hydrocarbons in Pakistan, including 250 million cubic feet of gas a day and 14,000 barrels a day of crude oil. -By Gurdeep Singh, Dow Jones Newswires; 65-6415 4064; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 23, 2010 04:32 ET (08:32 GMT)