Who is eying BP? Surely, not the OGDC

An oil spill did what terrorists could not. It has forced the British Petroleum (BP) to sell off its assets in Pakistan as it has promised to clean the mess that will cost nearly $20 billion. BPs assets in Pakistan are tipped to be worth $700-$750 million - so who is up for the taking?
A few voices in the market are tipping the OGDC as the buyers for BPs assets. Rumours gained more credence when Naeem Malik, head of the Directorate-General of Petroleum Concessions, hinted at the governments interest in buying BPs stakes, talking to the international media the other day.
"Instead of these assets going to others, we think, why not the government or our public sector companies buy them? Of course, we have to see the financial costs first." Looking carefully at his statement, it seems more of an inquisitive note than a hint to move on with the deal.
Although, many in the market are punting the premier E&P company, the OGDC, to bid for BPs assets, the likelihood of this happening seems remote. There are no official valuation estimates available for BP Pakistans assets, but independent brokerage firms have estimated them worth $700-$800 million. UBS believes the assets are worth no more than $690 million.
It has to be reminded to Naeem Malik and everybody else believing OGDC to be the buyer, that the circular debt woes are far from over and still haunt the OGDC as much as they did the whole of FY10. The cash strapped company, which has drastically cut its dividend payout in the recent past and finds it difficult to even meet the government revenue target, surely has less options to make a bid as big as $700 million.
Secondly, most of the BP operated fields have either reached maturity or are at a declining stage, which makes the acquisition even less attractive. At best, what OGDC can do is to keep its joint venture share with whoever buys the stake to lock the production.
As for the potential buyers, there are as many words as mouths. Rumours had it that some leading energy exploration firms from the Middle East have shown keen interest in BPs assets, however, these reports hold no credibility yet.
Existing foreign giants such as ENI have the opportunity to lock the deal and be the second largest oil and gas producer in the country. ENI has enough presence in Pakistan and is presumably in better financial health, which only makes sense for it to expand its operations.
There is surely going to be a loss of technical expertise when BP formally departs and the vacuum is filled by a lesser company, but for all those punting OGDC as the buyer, it may not be the case.