Nigeria Content Online

Just 24 hours after
gaffe-prone Chief Executive Tony Hayward’s head rolled from the
chopping block, candidates for the auction block hit the headlines, as
BP aims to slim down to recover from the thumping losses racked up in
the 100 days since the start of the environmental disaster.

Sources with direct
knowledge of the matter said BP was in talks with India’s Reliance
Industries and Essar to sell retail assets in Africa with an estimated
price tag of $500 million. Its Indonesian unit rushed to pre-empt
speculation its assets there might be for sale. “In Indonesia, there is
no change to our strategy and plans. Indonesia is an important area for
BP,” The company’s Indonesia president, William Lin, told Reuters.
Investment bankers said the assets BP could sell include its stake in
Alaska’s huge Prudhoe Bay oil field and its interest in Pan American
Energy in Argentina, as well as smaller assets in Vietnam, Pakistan and
Colombia.

Lawsuits

More than 5 million
barrels of oil have spilt into the Gulf of Mexico since the undersea
leak began in late April, according to U.S. government estimates. The
spill, caused by an explosion that killed 11 people, has devastated
communities and fragile ecosystems along the Gulf Coast and killed or
injured countless sea creatures and coastal birds. It has also prompted
a moratorium on deepwater oil drilling. The leak was plugged two weeks
ago, and later on Wednesday BP is scheduled to provide an update on
when it could begin the final procedure to permanently seal the well.
With private lawsuits piling up, attorneys hoping to lead the fight
against BP are heading to Boise, Idaho, as a special panel considers
how to handle the cases.

A group of seven
federal judges is convening on Thursday to consider which court, or
courts, should oversee the hundreds of spill-related civil suits
brought by injured rig workers, fishermen, investors and property
owners. The list of investigations surrounding the spill is also
growing. The Washington Post said several government agencies were
preparing a criminal probe of the action of at least three companies
involved in the spill, citing law enforcement and other sources. The
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice have
also launched “informal enquiries” into securities matters related to
the spill.

BP shares down

BP’s London-listed
shares were down 1.7 percent at 399.1 pence at 1:54pm, as investors
digested Tuesday’s news of a second-quarter loss of $17 billion,
including $32 billion in charges related to the oil spill. The company
has lost about 40 percent of its market value since the explosion. “The
critical question remains what BP will look like two years from now,”
analysts at Morgan Stanley said. “Investors will need more clarity on
the impact of asset sales and further reassurances of a cultural change
regarding safety … before BP can regain a multiple in line with its
industry peers.”

Industry executives said it was a good time to sell assets as
relative stability in the oil price in the past nine months makes it
easier for buyers and sellers to agree terms. BP agreed to a $7 billion
sale of oil and gas fields to Apache Corp last week, which valued the
assets at around $19.40 per barrel of oil equivalent. Bob Dudley, who
will replace Hayward as CEO on October 1, on Tuesday called the Gulf
oil spill a “wake-up call” for the entire industry and said safety
would be among his top priorities as the first American to lead BP
tries to patch up the British oil company’s battered reputation. Image
repair wasn’t helped when BP pointed out the cost of the spill would
reduce its taxes, leaving U.S. taxpayers $10 billion worse off.