A member of Kuwait's top oil policy committee moved Tuesday to distance
the Gulf country from increasing its stake in BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) as speculation
continues that Middle East investors are preparing to rescue the struggling
U.K. company.
"The investment authority in
Kuwait
already has a stake in BP and have lost a considerable amount on the book
value," Imad Al Atiqi, a member of
Kuwait
's
influential Supreme Petroleum Council, told Zawya Dow Jones by telephone.
"This is sensitive for the authority and they need to keep the policy of diversification.
It's not a matter of price and opportunity but a matter of diversification away
from specific companies so I am not sure it's a good idea to raise the stake
they already have in BP," Al Atiqi said.
BP is battling one of the worst oil spill disasters in
U.S.
history since an explosion on the Transocean Ltd. (RIG) Deepwater Horizon
drilling rig in the
Gulf of Mexico
--leased by BP for its Macondo
well--on April 20. Local media have speculated over the last week that the
company has been in talks with sovereign wealth investors in the
Middle
East
to fend off a hostile takeover by one of its larger rivals.
According to data provider FactSet, the Kuwait Investment Authority, or KIA,
held a 2.8% stake, or 530.5 million shares, in BP as of June 1. BP's share
price closed at 655 pence on April 20 and was trading around 341 pence Tuesday,
translating into an unrealized loss in value of approximately GBP1.67 billion
for KIA.
Al Atiqi's remarks come a day after
Libya
's top
oil official Shokri Ghanem told Zawya Dow Jones that he would recommend to the
Libyan Investment Authority, or LIA, the North African country's sovereign
wealth fund, it should buy a stake in BP due to its low share price.
The Supreme Petroleum Council is
Kuwait
's
highest decision-making authority for the oil industry. Its members include the
country's prime minister, oil minister and chief executive of state-owned
Kuwait Petroleum Corp.
On Monday, BP's shares marched higher, gaining 3.5% after Ghanem's remarks. The
oil giant's stock has risen 12% since hitting 14-year lows late last month, a
sign that the shares are once again appealing to investors.
At 1302 GMT on Tuesday, BP's shares were up 10 pence, or 2.9%, at 343 pence. London's FTSE 100 index was up
2.4%.