BP is set to lose its position as one of the three largest investors in Alaska’s oil industry. On August 27, the company announced plans to sell off all of its Alaskan assets to Hilcorp for the sum of $5.6 billion.
Texas-based Hilcorp is the largest privately-owned oil operator in Alaska, so the deal will make it a much bigger player there. It already has a good working relationship with BP, as it acquired four North Slope fields from the British super-major in 2014.
This sale represents the end of an era. BP is not just the leader of the group that brought the massive Prudhoe Bay oil field on stream in 1977 but is also a stakeholder in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.
Nevertheless, CEO Bob Dudley said the deal would help his company achieve its long-term goals. “[We] are steadily reshaping BP, and today we have other opportunities, both in the US and around the world, that are more closely aligned with our long-term strategy and more competitive for our investment,” he said.