Majors stick with divestment plans

摘要

The majors are counting on asset divestments to strengthen their balance sheets as they look to prop up shareholder returns and reduce debt. But discounted assets on ofer from other sellers could whet some majors’ appetite for acquisitions. BP made a record annual loss of $18.1bn because of write-downs in 2020, and wants to reduce its net debt, excluding leases, by $4bn to $35bn as soon as the end of this year — a level at which it aims to trigger share buy-backs. The company sees low-cost, lower-emissions hydrocarbons as a pillar of its energy transition strategy, but its sale of a 20pc stake in Oman’s block 61 gas concession to Thai state-controlled PTT for $2.6bn appears to go against the grain of plans to high-grade its upstream portfolio. The deal took BP’s completed and announced divestments to $14bn of a $25bn target for 2020-25.