BP to sell entire stake in Draugen field to Royal Dutch Shell for $240 mn

British oil giant BP Plc yesterday said that it will sell its entire 18.36 per cent non-operated interest in the Draugen field in the Norwegian Sea to AS Norske Shell, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc for $240 million in cash.

Shell, which is the operator of the field, said the acquisition will increase its stake in Draugen field to 44.56 per cent from 26.20 per cent.

The proposed sale comes a few days after the London-based company agreed to sell some of its deep water production assets in the Gulf of Mexico to Plains Exploration & Production Co. for $5.55 billion. (See: BP nears $7 bn Gulf of Mexico assets sale to Plains Exploration)

BP had earlier said that it plans to sell assets worth around $38 billion by the end of next year in order to pay damages for the oil spill from the explosion of its Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico, the worst offshore spill in the US history. With the latest sale, BP has now entered into agreements to sell assets valued around $33 billion since the beginning of 2010.

BP said that its stake in the Draugen field yields net production of an average of 6,000 barrels per day. The company expects to complete  the deal by the end of this year, subject to regulatory approval.

BP has been in Norway since 1920 and is the operator of 11 licences of the 15 that it holds. The fields currently in production and operated by BP Norway include Valhall, Hod, Ula and Tambar.