4/S: Canadian LPG ops. Gd cond. Pipeline inc'd. Need to raise $$$ fast. $2B OBO. (image: The Telegraph)
British Petroleum is planning to sell its liquid petroleum gas operations in Canada, according to a couple news outlets. Chatter in the industry says the price tag should be at least $1 billion — and maybe more like $2 billion— with offers already in.
The company is raising funds to help pay its clean-up bill for the Gulf oil spill earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal says. Since July, BP has sold off properties on four continents, raising an estimated $21 billion.
And four minutes after the BP story first hit the WSJ website yesterday, this doozy of a headline appeared: “Justice Department Sues BP Over Gulf Oil Spill.” (Executive summary: BP is on the hook for billions.)
What’s included in the Canadian offering? The fractionation plants that extract propane from natural gas, plus storage and pipeline facilities. One analyst tells the WSJ these are “esoteric properties,” since the value on the LPG facilities is harder to appraise than underground fuel reserves. But it’s a sellers market, another says, and BP has collected nicely on its recent sales.
An unnamed source says the Canadian assets have been up for sale since October. A sale is expected in the new year.
Elsewhere, Bloomberg says Credit Suisse Group guided the sale. Speculation on potential buyers falls on investment groups in Calgary and Houston, though no one will officially voice their interest in the press.