BP eyes asset sale after Osborne's oil budget

It looks like BP could be trying to cash in on some UK government largesse.

The Sunday Times reported yesterday that the oil giant is offering to sell around £2bn worth of assets in the North Sea.

The paper claims the sale has been prompted by the Chancellor George Osborne's decision in this year's Budget to underwrite 75% of the decommissioning costs of taking down oil rigs.

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Potential buyers of North Sea fields have been put off investing because of fears at facing a big bill at the end of a project.

At 10:06 BP shares had risen 0.34%. So far this year the stock is 4% ahead.