Blueprint
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 6-K
Report of Foreign Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
for the
period ended 11
October, 2019
BP p.l.c.
(Translation
of registrant's name into English)
1 ST JAMES'S SQUARE, LONDON, SW1Y 4PD, ENGLAND
(Address
of principal executive offices)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file
annual
reports
under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form
20-F |X| Form 40-F
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Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the
information
contained
in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to
the
Commission
pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act
of
1934.
Yes No
|X|
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press
release
11 October 2019
BP expects to deliver around $10 billion of divestment
proceeds
and announced transactions by end 2019
● Planned two-year $10 billion
divestment programme now expected to be largely agreed by end 2019,
ahead of schedule
● Significant contribution from
Alaska divestment and further progress with non-BHP US Lower 48
legacy gas asset sales
● Divestments expected to result
in a non-cash after-tax charge of $2-3 billion in BP's third
quarter 2019 results
BP
today announced that it now expects to deliver divestment proceeds
and announced transactions totalling around $10 billion by the end
of 2019, comprising the majority of its two-year divestment
programme planned to complete by the end of 2020.
Following
the $10.25 billion all-cash acquisition of US onshore assets from
BHP in 2018, BP announced a $10 billion divestment programme over
2019 and 2020. The strong progress in delivering the programme has
been driven by the agreed sale of BP's interests in Alaska, as well
as progress in divesting assets from its existing, non-BHP US Lower
48 legacy gas business.
The
$5.6 billion sale to Hilcorp of BP's Alaskan business - announced
in August and subject to regulatory approval - is the largest
single agreed transaction and is expected to complete in 2020. BP
has also agreed the sale of four packages of legacy gas assets from
its US Lower 48 business.
As
a result of the agreed divestments, BP expects to take a non-cash,
non-operating, after-tax charge of $2-3 billion in its third
quarter 2019 results. BP will also continue to review asset
valuations as divestments in the US Lower 48 progress over the
fourth quarter 2019.
These
impairment charges are expected to increase gearing in the short
term, as a result of the impact on equity, with gearing remaining
above the top end of the 20-30% range through year end. However, in
line with the expected growth in free cash flow and the receipt of
divestment proceeds, BP continues to expect net debt levels to
reduce and gearing to move towards the middle of its target range
of 20-30% through 2020.
Across
the Upstream, BP continues to make strong progress with the
delivery of its programme of major projects. 23 of the 35 projects
expected online by the end of 2021 are now in production, with
production ramping up from the four projects that have started up
so far in 2019.
In
the near term, BP's third quarter 2019 production was impacted by
turnarounds in some of the highest-margin regions, and output in
the US Gulf of Mexico was significantly disrupted by Hurricane
Barry, with facilities shut down for around 14 days. Taken
together, these factors impacted BP's third quarter 2019 production
by around 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with the
overall production mix in the third quarter having a higher
proportion of barrels produced from higher tax
regions.
As
a result, BP's underlying effective tax rate is expected to be
around 50% in the third quarter 2019, significantly higher than in
the second quarter. The full year 2019 tax guidance of around 40%
remains unchanged.
BP
will provide further information in its third quarter 2019 results,
scheduled to be published on 29 October 2019.
Further
information:
BP press office, bppress@bp.com,
+44 (0)20 7496 4076
Cautionary statement:
In
order to utilize the 'safe harbor' provisions of the United States
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the 'PSLRA'), BP
is providing the following cautionary statement. This press release
contains certain forward-looking statements - that is, statements
related to future, not past events and circumstances - which may
relate to one or more of the financial conditions, results of
operations and businesses of BP and certain of the plans and
objectives of BP with respect to these items. These statements are
generally, but not always, identified by the use of words such as
'will', 'expects', 'is expected to', 'aims', 'should', 'may',
'objective', 'is likely to', 'intends', 'believes', 'anticipates',
'plans', 'we see' or similar expressions. In particular, the
following, among other statements, are all forward looking in
nature: plans and expectations regarding divestments; expectations
regarding impairments; expectations with respect to net debt levels
and gearing; and expectations regarding the underlying effective
tax rate. Actual results may differ from those expressed
in such statements, depending on a variety of factors including the
risk factors set forth in our most recent Annual Report and Form
20-F 2018 under "Risk factors" as filed with the US Securities and
Exchange Commission.
This
document contains references to production outlooks based on
non-proved resources that the SEC's rules prohibit us from
including in our filings with the SEC. U.S. investors are urged to
consider closely the disclosures in our Form 20-F, SEC File No.
1-06262.
Our most recent Annual Report and Form 20-F and
other period filings are available on our website
at www.bp.com,
or can be obtained from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330 or on its
website at www.sec.gov.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
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BP
p.l.c.
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(Registrant)
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Dated: 11
October 2019
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/s/ Ben
J. S. Mathews
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Ben J.
S. Mathews
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Company
Secretary
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