BP sell-off deal falls through

BP’s pledge to sell off billions of dollars of assets to cover compensation for the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster was dealt a blow today after a major deal in Argentina was scrapped.

Bridas Corporation withdrew its $7bn (€5.07bn) bid for BP’s 60% interest in Argentina-based oil and gas firm Pan American Energy (PAE) after failing to secure relevant regulatory approvals within an agreed timeframe.

BP said it will now repay the $3.53bn (€2.55bn) deposit put down by Bridas and retain “long-term ownership” of PAE’s assets.

The energy giant last month announced plans to extend its asset sale programme - announced in the wake of the fatal Deepwater Horizon accident in April last year – to $45bn (€32.6bn).

The collapse of the Bridas-PAE deal – which will pile further pressure on boss Bob Dudley – will push BP’s current asset sales total to $19bn (€13.77bn), less than half that target.