BP gains Abu Dhabi oil field stake for $2.2 billion in stock

BP Plc cemented its 77-year relationship with Abu Dhabi by swapping about $2.2 billion of its own shares for a stake in one of the emirate’s largest onshore oil concessions. The UK’s second-biggest oil group will issue new ordinary shares to pay for 10 per cent of the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Petroleum Operations Ltd., giving the emirate a 2 per cent holding in BP, the London-based company said Saturday in a statement. Abu Dhabi investor Mubadala Development Co. is likely to hold the BP shares, two people with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be named before a formal announcement. The agreement promises BP additional cash flow and revenue following a downturn that has forced the industry to slash billions of dollars of investments worldwide in the past two years. “The economics are good for us and for our shareholders, and for BP it brings a strategic partner,” Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said in an interview in Abu Dhabi. “This agreement will provide BP with long-term access to significant and competitive resources that we already understand very well.” (Mahmoud Habboush, Tracy Alloway and Rakteem Katakey/Bloomberg)