BP-CNOOC oil deal delayed

BP (BP.NYSE) said a deal to sell its stake in Argentine crude oil producer Pan American Energy to a joint venture between China’s CNOOC (CEO.NYSE, 0883.HKG) and Argentina’s Bridas Energy Holdings is unlikely to close by next Tuesday’s deadline, the Wall Street Journal reported. Both BP and CNOOC said Tuesday that they had not yet received certain regulator approvals; an official at CNOOC, the listed arm of state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp, said the announcement was “standard procedure.” BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley, however, appeared indifferent to the consequences of failed deal. “That’s not an asset we are desperate to sell. We made that agreement when oil prices were a lot lower,” he said. “We want to make that deal and complete it if it can happen, but if it doesn’t happen, that’s OK too.” If the deal falls through, BP would have to repay the joint venture its US$3.53 billion deposit and pay Bridas US$700 million.