BP seeks to resume Gulf drilling

BP is close to reaching an agreement that would allow it to restart drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

US regulators dismissed reports of a “done deal”, but it is thought that BP has been given informal approval.

The oil giant has asked to restart work on existing wells in the Gulf, where a BP rig explosion last year killed 15 workers and caused a huge oil spill.

Despite media reports of an agreement, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said “there is no such deal”.

However, the BBC’s business editor, Robert Peston, understands that BP has been told privately that it should be able to resume drilling in July.

The issue is sensitive for BP and the Obama administration as the oil spill is still fresh in the minds of Gulf communities and environmental groups.

BP would like to restart work on 10 existing wells, all in deep water locations.

The company’s rivals have been given permission to resume drilling on existing operations. New deep water explorations are still banned.

Metal deal

Meanwhile, BP has announced that it has agreed to sell Arco Aluminum, a supplier of rolled aluminium sheet used mainly in the production of drink cans, to a consortium of Japanese companies for $680m (£420m) in cash.

BP is hoping to raise $30bn from disposals by the end of 2011 to help pay for the clean-up and compensation for the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

The company has already agreed deals worth a total of more than $24bn.

BP’s chief executive, Bob Dudley, said in a statement: “Although a strong business, Arco Aluminum is clearly a non-strategic asset for BP. Today’s agreement will deliver an attractive price for the business, unlocking its value for our shareholders.”

Later on Monday, BP returns to an arbitration tribunal as part of a continuing dispute with shareholders in its Russian joint venture, TNK-BP.

The shareholders, known as AAR, are trying to block a share-swap and Arctic exploration pact between BP and Russia’s Rosneft.

AAR has already blocked the exploration deal, and now wants to block the share swap, arguing that it breaches a pre-existing TNK-BP agreement.