Several media have reported that BP will increase its target for asset sales to as high as $40 billion. This almost certainly mean disposing of its aging oil field holdings in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, which may be worth as much as $20 billion.
Investors got an early jump on BP's earnings announcement, sending the stock about 4% higher in Monday in a positive reaction to the oil giant's anticipated ouster of CEO Tony Hayward in favor of Gulf cleanup czar Bob Dudley.
The costs associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill are rising and CEO Tony Hayward may soon be out of a job, but BP's second-quarter profits will likely be strong, thanks in large part to higher crude prices.
Apache Corporation (APA) has reportedly agreed to purchase $7 billion worth of assets from BP (BP). The assets include all of BP's oil and gas facilities and land in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico and the Western Desert region in Egypt. Apache will also gain control of much of BP's gas business in western Canada.
Oil and gas company Apache is doing its own exploration, snapping up rival Mariner Energy in a deal valued at $$2.7 billion, Apache announced Thursday. The merger will give Apache an entry into deep water exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, where it has considered venturing for years. And it comes on the heels of another Gulf of Mexico acquisition announced earlier this week, when it acquired the shallow water oil assets of Devon Energy (DVN) for $1.05 billion.