BP sells Forties, the North Sea’s fading star

BP HAS SOLD its 96.14% stake in the Forties oilfield, the largest found in UK waters. The sale confirms the decline of the UK North Sea as a major upstream province. The $1.3bn deal with US independent Apache includes a package of shallow-water assets in the Gulf of Mexico. The UK major says the deal is part of a comprehensive review of its asset portfolio. The company has been under pressure in the last six months after failing to meet its upstream targets. Further transactions are expected during 2003, BP says, as it disposes of assets that may be worth more to others than to us. The sale of Forties, which was discovered in 1970 and produced 0.5m barrels a day or 25% of UK demand at its pe