BP gets $7bn for Argentina business

BP has sold its stake in Argentina-based oil and gas company Pan American Energy (PAE) to Bridas Corporation for $7.06bn (£4.52bn) in cash.The acquisition of BP's 60% will give Bridas, which already owns 40% of the business, full control when the deal completes in 2011.It also puts BP firmly on course to hit its $30bn target of asset sales, announced in July, by the end of next year. Today's deal pushes the total so far to $21bn.April's oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico that left 11 workers dead and a huge oil slick along the American coastline is expected to cost the company at least $40bn."We now have agreements in place that should secure the majority of our divestment target," said new chief executive Bob Dudley who took over from much-maligned former CEO Tony Hayward on 1 October."We will continue to identify further assets that may be strategically more valuable to others than to BP as we complete the programme." PAE's net production associated with BP's interest was about 143 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2009, making the British company a tidy profit of $581.5m.BP will receive a cash deposit of $3.53bn from Bridas by the end of December, and the balance on completion.