UPDATE: BP To Sell Assets In Canada, US, Egypt To Apache For $7B

(Updates with comments from Apache's conference call; adds more details) By Isabel Ordonez Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--BP PLC (BP) said Tuesday it has agreed to sell assets in the U.S., Canada and Egypt to Apache Corp. (APA) for a total of $7 billion. The deal will help BP finance the mounting costs of cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and allows Houston-based Apache to expand its presence in regions where it already has operations. Apache will pay a cash deposit of $5 billion on July 30. The transaction follows BP's move last month to set up a $20 billion compensation fund for spill liabilities. BP will finance this fund by cutting three-quarters of its dividend and selling $10 billion of noncore assets. Earlier Tuesday, BP said it plans to sell its gas fields and a pipeline in Vietnam, as well as assets and exploration licenses in Pakistan. BP "believes that there are opportunities to divest assets which are strategically more valuable to other parties than they are to BP," Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said in a prepared statement. "Today's announcement is the first such transaction and meets the value and strategic criteria of both parties." Press reports in recent weeks have flagged talks between BP and Apache over an asset deal, though these were focused on the U.K. oil giant's considerable Alaska holdings, which weren't included in Tuesday's deal. BP will sell Apache its Permian Basin assets in Texas and southeastern New Mexico, as well as its western Canada natural-gas exploration and production assets. The deal also includes the Western Desert business concessions and East Badr El-din exploration concession in Egypt. "This really plays to Apache's core competencies of finding value in underworked assets," Steven Farris, Apache's chief executive, said during a conference call to discuss the acquisition. These assets are a good fit for Apache because the company already has core business operations in these areas, said Fadel Gheit, analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York. "On the other hand, BP doesn't have a big presence in any of these areas, so they are smart to monetize marginal assets." The transactions, which are subject to regulatory approvals and could be derailed if BP's partners in the assets exercise their pre-emption rights, are expected be completed during the third quarter, the company said. Apache has specialized in acquiring and rehabilitating declining oil and gas fields that no longer fit in the portfolios of its peers. Earlier this year, Apache bought the shallow-water Gulf of Mexico assets of Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) for $1.05 billion. Apache is paying BP $3.1 billion for BP's Permian Basin assets, which have about 24 million barrels of oil equivalent of proven reserves. The company will purchase the U.K. giant's Western Canadian gas assets, which have about 214 million barrels of oil equivalent of proved reserves, for $3.25 billion. Apache will pay $650 million for BP's Western Desert business and East Badr El-din exploration concessions in Egypt. The assets BP is selling in Egypt have about 20 million barrels of oil equivalent of proved reserves. The acquisition won't affect an Apache's earlier agreement to acquire Mariner Energy Inc. for $2.7 billion, the company said. Shares of Apache closed 3.3% higher at $88.28, while BP's U.S.-listed shares closed down 1.5% at $35.20. -By Isabel Ordonez, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-2094; isabel.ordonez@dowjones.com (Jason Womack contributed to this article.) (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 20, 2010 18:18 ET (22:18 GMT)