BP has agreed to sell its petrochemicals business to Ineos for $5 billion, the latest in a series of asset sales by the UK oil company as it tries to refocus on cleaner energy.
Demand for oil and gas has slumped this year, primarily due to travel restrictions imposed during lockdowns, and it may never rebound to its pre-pandemic peak. But petrochemicals could recover more strongly.
Petrochemicals is forecast to become the largest driver of global oil demand, generating more than a third of the growth to 2030, and nearly half to 2050, according to the International Energy Agency.
Still, the chief executive of BP(BP), Bernard Looney, said the company’s resources would be better deployed elsewhere.
«Strategically, the overlap with the rest of BP is limited and it would take considerable capital for us to grow these businesses,» Looney said in a statement.
