BP to sell interests in ethylene, PE production in Malaysia to Petronas

03-Sep-10

BP is to hive off interests in ethylene and polyethylene production in Malaysia to Petronas, Malaysia's national oil company. The sale by British oil giant for US$363 mln is expected to be completed by the end of 2010. BP holds a 15% stake in Ethylene Malaysia Sdn Bhd, and a 60% stake Polyethylene Malaysia Sdn Bhd, both of which are operated by Petronas. The sale is part of BP's efforts to raise cash to pay for costs related to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP is seeking to sell off up to US$30 bln of assets over the next 18 months in a bid to meet escalating costs from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster. The deal does not affect BP's other businesses in the Asian nation. In August, BP agreed to offload its Colombian business for US$1.9 bln to national oil company Ecopetrol and Talisman of Canada.