Karachi: Pakistan's Oil and Gas Development Co Ltd (OGDCL) said it had bid for BP's assets in Pakistan, estimated by analysts to be worth as much as $690 million (Dh2.53 billion).
OGDCL, Pakistan's largest listed company, said it had made a joint bid with Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL) for the assets, but did not disclose a price and offered no further details.
BP announced its plans to sell its upstream assets in Pakistan in July, as part of a $10 billion global asset sale aimed at raising cash to pay for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
BP's upstream assets and related operations, which it plans to divest, include nine producing and exploration onshore blocks and four offshore exploration blocks in the Arabian Sea, according to OGDCL sources.
They contribute about 14 per cent of Pakistan's total oil production and six per cent of its domestic gas production.
UBS analysts estimated in a July research note that BP's fields in Pakistan are worth $690 million, while Farooq Najam, an analyst at Invisor Securities Ltd estimated the assets to be worth around $362 million.
BP's main assets are in Badin in the southern Sindh province, comprising four concessions — Badin-I, Badin-II, Badin-IIR and Badin-III.
Of the four concessions, OGDCL has pre-emptive rights in all but Badin-I block, OGDCL sources said last month.
They said then that if its bid succeeds, OGDCL will operate the acquired assets through a company, jointly owned by it and PPL .
$10b
value of assets sale planned by UK firm
14%
contribution of BP's operation to oil output
6%
contribution of BP's operation to gas output
