Brazil allows BP purchase
BRAZIL’S energy regulator ANP said yesterday it has approved BP’s purchase of assets from US-based Devon, a deal that was slowed by its massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
The approval comes after BP sold assets around the world to help pay for the effects of the oil spill at the Macondo well, which delayed approval of its 2010 purchase of Brazilian assets.
“After leading the process of containing the Gulf of Mexico spill … BP has shown itself today to be one of the most prepared companies in terms of operational security in deep waters,” the ANP said in a statement.
In March 2010 BP agreed to pay $7bn (£4.28bn) for Devon assets in Brazil, Azerbaijan and the Gulf of Mexico. The ANP held up approval for the Brazil purchase after the Macondo accident because it wanted to see how BP would respond to the incident.
The company said in October it agreed to sell oil and gas fields in Vietnam and Venezuela to its Russian joint venture TNK-BP for $1.8bn, and in November said it was selling its stake in Argentine oil and gas group Pan American Energy.