E2 Round-up: BP works to install improved containment cap, the company may sell off assets, and a Chinese oil giant eyes closer ties with BP

Here’s a bit more from their piece on the delicate undersea operation:

“Robotic submarines worked to bolt down a pipe-like connector called a flange spool that will sit on top of the spewing well bore, aiming for completion early Monday, after removing a busted piece of pipe that was bolted around the leak.”

“From there, a new cap will be placed atop the gusher to provide a tight seal that should eventually allow the oil giant to capture all the crude leaking from the well for the first time since an April 20 oil rig explosion set off the environmental crisis. But prior failed attempts to stop the leak have made BP PLC careful to keep expectations grounded.”

BP may put Alaskan holdings up for sale

“BP is in talks to sell assets, including stakes in its Alaska oil fields, to Apache for $10 billion to $12 billion, a person briefed on the matter said on Sunday,” the New York Times reports.

“Should a deal be reached — one is not expected immediately — it would help provide BP with additional money to pay for cleaning up the immense oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Talks are continuing and may not result in a transaction, this person cautioned.”

Bloomberg notes that potential buyer Apache is the biggest U.S. independent oil company by market value.

“Apache is a very smart acquirer and that’s been part of their growth over many, many years,” said Philip Dodge, an analyst at Tuohy Brothers in New York, in their account.

A bit more on BP’s market roller coaster from the Bloomberg piece:

“Investors have sold BP’s stock over concerns the company may struggle to cover the rising costs and fend off the political ramifications prompted by the April 20 drilling rig explosion. The stock has slumped 44 percent as of July 9.”

“BP shares rose 13 percent last week in London, the best weekly performance since the spill began. The cost of insuring BP’s debt against default for five years fell for an eighth straight day on July 9.”

Exxon Mobil Corp. is also in the mix.

Report: Chinese oil giant PetroChina is open to working with BP 

“PetroChina, China’s largest listed oil and gas producer, says it would ‘welcome’ closer co-operation with BP as the embattled UK group struggles to cover liabilities arising from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster,” the Financial Times reports.

“Chinese energy companies have spent billions of dollars on overseas acquisitions this year, with headline deals including CNOOC’s $3bn investment in Bridas and Sinopec’s $4.65bn investment for a stake in a Canadian oil sands project.”