Sources say that BP has begun the process of selling stakes in Gulf of Mexico projects.

BP, the British 'oil major, has begun a 'process' to sell stakes in its Gulf of Mexico project, according to four sources with knowledge of this matter. This would be Meg O'Neill's very first move as CEO. BP is one of the biggest operators in the Gulf of Mexico and has been weighing a sale of a minority stake in both the Kaskida project and the Tiber project for over a year. Each of these projects are estimated to be worth billions of dollar to the company. Four people who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity did not disclose the value of the stakes BP was looking to sell. BP refused to comment on the matter. Oil and gas companies 'offer minorities stakes in developing projects to release capital invested. BP changed its strategy to refocus its investments on oil and natural gas last year after receiving criticism from investors.

O'Neill is the first outside hire for the company in over a century. He took on his role in April. The Kaskida project and the Tiber project are considered BP's best prospects in Gulf of Mexico. Each is expected to have a production capacity of 80,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Kaskida will begin production in 2029, and Tiber in 3030. The London-listed company is becoming more dependent on the U.S. for growth. It aims to boost its U.S. Upstream production to 1 million barrels per day by 2030. This is just half of the target of producing between 2.3 million and 2.5 million Boepd worldwide in this time frame.

The oil prices have risen by over 40% this year as the U.S./Israeli war against Iran has disrupted supply worldwide.

(source: Reuters)