Kuwait may buy some of BP's Middle East and Asian assets, a Kuwait newspaper said on Monday, as part of the British oil company's attempt to raise funds and fend off takeover bids. Arabic language daily Al-Jarida, citing oil sources, said state-run Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co (KUFPEC) is reviewing investing in oil fields in Egypt, Yemen and east Asia due to BP's need for liquidity. Kuwait, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, is not in direct talks with the British firm, the newspaper said. An official at KUFPEC denied the report when contacted by Reuters on Monday. In London, shareholders in British oil company BP balked at reports it would seek urgent investment from a wealthy Middle East or Asian country as clean-up costs for its US oil spill topped $3 billion. Over the weekend, while US Independence Day holidaymakers shunned Gulf of Mexico beaches tarred by the leaking well, media reports said BP was looking for a strategic investor among the sovereign wealth funds of the Middle East and Asia. An investor would help ward off a takeover and raise funds for the liabilities racking up behind the worst oil spill in US history, the reports said. BP shares rose 4.35 percent in London to 336.95 pence at 1345 GMT after the reports, but some shareholders balked at the idea of a strategic investor. “We don't think a strategic partner is at all necessary,” said one top-10 BP shareholder who did not want to be named. “We think this is just people trying to panic the company and stampede into doing something to earn huge fees from selling new shares in BP. Shareholders will be saying ‘No, thank you' to this and we have communicated this to the company.” Another top-10 investor agreed that BP “probably did not” need a strategic investor at the moment. Britain's Sunday Times said BP's advisers were trying to drum up interest among rival oil groups and sovereign wealth funds to take a stake of between 5 and 10 percent in the company at a cost of up to 6 billion pounds ($9.1 billion). BP declined to comment. One former investment director at a Dubai-based state investment company said it was a predictable move for BP to seek a strategic investor, but he doubted it would find one among the oil rich sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) of the Middle East. A London banker said any SWF involvement might more likely involve the Far East than the Middle East. Separately, several newspapers reported interest among SWFs in buying some of BP's assets in the Middle East and Asia. BP has said it hopes to raise $10 billion from asset sales this year as part of its plan to fund a $20 billion clean-up fund set up under pressure from US authorities. Arabic language daily al-Jarida was most specific, saying state-run Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co (KUFPEC) is reviewing investing in oil fields in Egypt, Yemen and east Asia. BP shares have lost more than half their market value since the worst US oil spill in history struck on April 20, the result of an explosion on a drilling rig that caused a well to rupture and spew millions of gallons of crude into the sea. Attempts to stop the flow have been unsuccessful, with BP now pinning hopes on a relief well that should be complete in August. Some oil is being captured through a pipe, while some is being burned off. BP said it collected or burned 25,195 barrels on Saturday.
