Mubadala to study BP assets up for sale

Abu Dhabi:  Mubadala Development Co will look at BP assets going on sale as the UK oil major struggles with the fallout from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster, but is not in direct talks, a senior company official said yesterday.

"Like most oil companies that are expanding, we will be looking at what's available," David Douglas, senior vice-president of finance and corporate support at Mubadala Oil and Gas, a Mubadala unit, told Zawya Dow Jones on the sidelines of an event in Abu Dhabi.

Asked whether Mubadala was in talks with BP, Douglas said: "Not really directly."

Hayward said he'd be happy to see Abu Dhabi buy a stake of up to 10 per cent in BP, a person with knowledge of the matter told Zawya Dow Jones at the time.

Mubadala invests strategically on behalf of the Abu Dhabi government and holds stakes in companies such as Advanced Micro Devices and Ferrari. The firm said in November last year it had a working interest of 350,000 barrels a day of oil and gas production worldwide.