Oil major BP PLC (BP) Wednesday said it agreed to sell its equity stakes
in two Malaysian petrochemical businesses to
Malaysia
's
Petroliam Nasional Bhd. for $363 million in cash plus a dividend payment.
BP has agreed to sell a 15% stake in Ethylene Malaysia Sdn Bhd (EMSB) and a 60%
stake in Polyethylene Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PEMSB), both of which are operated by
Petronas and are located at Kertih, on the east coast of
Malaysia
. The
sale does not affect BP's other businesses in
Malaysia
.
BP has been divesting non-core assets to raise money to pay for litigation and
cleanup costs related to the massive oil spill in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. In
July, BP sold $7 billion in assets in the
U.S.
and
Egypt
to
U.S.
independent Apache Corp. (APA). The company has also discussed selling assets
in
Pakistan
and
Vietnam
.
In all, BP has discussed selling some $30 billion in assets to address the
spill, which has been called one of the worst environmental disasters in
history.
BP expects the
Malaysia
deal
to close by the end of the year, subject to certain conditions. The price tag
includes a balance sheet adjustment of $13 million and the repayment of a $53
million shareholder loan. BP will also receive an EMSB dividend payment of $48
million, subject to EMSB's board approval.
Sue Rataj, president of BP's Global Petrochemicals Business, said: "Whilst
these are attractive businesses with strong domestic and regional markets, BP
recognizes that Petronas is their natural owner, with various integration
opportunities uniquely available to them at the Kertih site.
"BP will continue to focus on the development and expansion of our olefins
and derivatives business in
China
, and
other large rapidly growing markets, and pursue opportunities in
China
and
India
to
extend our leading world positions in aromatics and acetyls," Rataj said.
EMSB's olefins cracker is able to produce about 440,000 tons annually of
ethylene, a basic petrochemical feedstock that is used to feed PEMSB's
operations. PEMSB is able to produce some 318,000 tons annually of
polyethylene, used primarily for packaging and film manufacture.
Once the deal closes, Petronas will own 87.5% of EMSB and Idemitsu will own the
remaining 12.5%. At PEMSB, Petronas will become the sole shareholder.