BP’s $5bln chemicals sale is easy bridge to burn – ZAWYA

BP’s $5bln chemicals sale is easy bridge to burn – ZAWYA

BP's $5bln chemicals sale is easy bridge to burn | ZAWYA MENA Edition HomeMarketsEquitiesArticleBP's $5bln chemicals sale is easy bridge to burn The $5bln, BP's chief executive has fetched for the assets is over 12 times the $396mln of operating profit they generated in 2019    Image used for illustrative purpose. The logo of BP is seen at a petrol station in Kloten, Switzerland October 3, 2017.(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)LONDON - Bernard Looney's big chemicals sale repays closer inspection. On the face of it, the BP chief executive is selling out of one of the oil sector's few growth areas via a panicky sale to raise cash, in order to pay a dividend he's too scared to cut. The reality looks more nuanced.It's true that so-called "petchems“ could be a growth area for someone. In 2018, the International Energy Agency suggested the business of refining oil into products like plastic could account for nearly half the overall growth in global demand to 2050. But while rivals have been positioning themselves accordingly - Saudi Aramco's recent $70 billion swoop for Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, for example - BP was already off the