Premier Oil had been working to buy the Andrew platform and BP's controlling stake in five surrounding fields, as well as its minority stake in the Shell-operated Shearwater field, however it abandoned the deal after agreeing to a merger with Chrysaor (Photo: BP)
Premier Oil abandoned its plans to buy North Sea fields from BP for $210 million after Premier was taken over by rival Chrysaor, marking a small dent in BP's $25 billion disposals target.
"Premier will not be proceeding with the proposed refinancing or the acquisitions of assets from BP previously announced," Premier and Chrysaor said in the announcement of the deal.
Debt-laden Premier agreed to acquire BP's stakes in two North Sea fields earlier this year for $625 million in an attempt to boost its cash generation.
But the company struggled to raise the required financing for the deal and agreed with BP to lower its price to $210 million only to seek to reduce it again last month.
BP said it will consider its options for the stakes in the Andrew and Shearwater fields following Premier's takeover.
It marks a small setback for BP's hopes to sell $25 billion in assets by 2025 in an effort to reduce debt as it begins a shift towards low-carbon energy.
BP said it had already completed or agreed, transactions approaching half of this target, including a $5.6 billion sale of its Alaska business and a $5 billion sale of its petrochemical business.
(Reporting by Ron Bousso; editing by Jason Neely and Louise Heavens)
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