Kuwait: OPEC member Kuwait may buy some of BP’s Middle East and Asian assets, a Kuwait newspaper said Monday, as part of the British oil company's attempt to raise funds and fend off takeover bids.
Arabic language daily Al Jarida, citing oil sources, said state-run Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration (KUFPEC) is considering whether to invest in oil fields in Egypt, Yemen and East Asia due to BP’s need for liquidity. However, Kuwait, the world’s fourth-largest oil exporter, is not in direct talks with the British firm, the newspaper added.
Media reports said BP is seeking a strategic investor to secure its independence in the face of takeover attempts as it struggles with a devastating oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.
Britain’s Sunday Times said the company’s advisers were trying to drum up interest among rival oil groups and sovereign wealth funds to take a stake of between five and 10 per cent in the company, at a cost of up to six billion pounds (Dh33.41 billion).
The Guardian said BP was holding talks with the Kuwait Investment Office, the London-based arm of the Kuwait Investment Authority, about raising its 1.75 per cent stake in the oil company to potentially as much as 10 per cent.
