BP said on Friday a plan to sell its stake in Argentina-based oil and gas group Pan American Energy (PAE) to Bridas Corp, half-owned by China's CNOOC, for $7 billion was still on, despite a report Argentine opposition could scupper it. A Bloomberg report said the deal was at risk of collapse due to opposition from Argentine politicians, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.
BP declined to repeat earlier guidance that the deal would be concluded in 2011, but said it saw no barrier to a sale. "Deals of this scale take time to finalise with competition authorities - we are working with the other shareholders in PAE to secure competition approvals and complete the deal," David Nicholas, director of group media, said. "We remain optimistic that these approvals will be granted in due course."
An industry source familiar with the operation said the deal was delayed but he did not think it would be scrapped. "There could be additional negotiations to change some detail of the initial terms of the operation, that could be, but I don't think it's possible for the deal to fall through," the Argentine source said.
Argentine politicians have not been especially vocal in support of or in opposition to the deal. And an official at the Argentine antitrust commission downplayed any possible political obstacle to the deal. "We're within the normal time frame. There is no point under consideration that is causing us to hold up the deal. If there are delays, they must be due to issues between private parties," the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
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