BP in $7bn deal with Devon Energy

Oil giant BP has announced a deal with US independent oil and gas producer Devon Energy Corp which will allow it to begin exploring off the coast of Brazil.

The deal, worth $7 billion (£4.7 billion), includes almost a dozen exploration blocks in Brazil, which comprises some of the world’s biggest deepwater oil fields.

It will also provide BP entry into fields in Brazil’s Campos and Camamu-Almada basins, in water depths ranging from 100 metres to 2,780 metres.

In the meantime, Devon will pay BP $500 million for half its stake in its undeveloped Kirby oil sands in Alberta, Canada.

Commenting on the deal, Andy Inglis, BP’s chief executive of exploration and production, said: “Through our entry into Brazil, BP will add a major position in another attractive deepwater basin.”

He added: “It further underlines our global position as the leading deepwater international oil company.”

The majority of Brazilian oil fields are deep underwater, making the cost of extraction quite expensive.

However, the prospect of large profits means oil producers are buying into them. The world’s largest oil company, ExxonMobil, has been exploring in Brazil for more than a decade.

Discoveries over the last 10 years have led experts to suggest Brazil could be one of the largest oil producers in the world.