Dow Jones] If Apache Corp. (APA) buys BP PLC's (BP) Alaska assets for about $12 billion the Houston-based company could face several challenges, UBS's analysts say. Apache has no experience in Artic development, the deal would need to be financed with material equity issuance of more than $5 billion and Alaska is a challenging regulatory environment and has high environmental operational costs, UBS says. But there could be some benefits to the possible transaction, which the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday is in the works. The $10-$12 billion price tag that apparently Apache would pay seems to be fair to modestly inexpensive and Apache could take advantage of its ability to acquire mature assets from major oil companies. BP's shares are sharply up on the possible deal and on possible interest of other companies in the assets the company is selling to help finance the costs of a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP shares are 6.17% up to $36.15, while Apache's were 2.33% up to $46.47. Contact us in Houston at 713-547-9207 or isabel.ordonez@dowjones.com. (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 12, 2010 11:07 ET (15:07 GMT)