BP Looks to Buy More Properties from Chesapeake
Oil giant BP is looking to possibly buy more natural gas properties from Chesapeake Energy. The WSJ reports the deal would be an early sign "that cash-rich global oil companies are prepared to embark on a spending spree as smaller natural gas producers scramble to raise cash amid declining energy prices and tight capital markets."
BP already purchased 25% of Chesapeake's Fayetteville Shale assets back in September.
BP has already done two deals with Chesapeake this year, spending a combined $3.65 billion to acquire fields in Oklahoma and a 25% stake in another field in Arkansas. A Chesapeake spokesman said the company wants to sell a stake in a Pennsylvania gas-field similar to the Arkansas deal. The spokesman declined to discuss BP's interest in acquiring additional assets. A BP spokesman also declined comment.
BP is under pressure to expand its portfolio of energy projects as concerns mount about its ability to expand production. The company has relied heavily on its Russian operations for future growth. But conflicts with the billionaire co-owners of TNK-BP, its Russian subsidiary, have put that strategy in question.
