The plunge in the price of oil has led BP to withdraw from exploration in three fields offshore Uruguay.
One of the world’s six “supermajor” oil and gas producers, the British firm says it made a business decision based on the high risk-to-reward assessment of the Uruguay fields.
Three years ago BP won the rights to explore blocks 11 and 12 in Uruguay’s Pelotas basin and block 6 in the Punta del Este basin.
Now it is going to give up control of the blocks to Uruguay’s state-owned oil company Ancap, probably in October. The decision effectively ends BP’s presence in Uruguay although a spokesman did not rule out a return if circumstances improve.
BP’s second quarter profits have fallen by nearly two thirds and the firm has cut back spending plans for the year by around $1 billion.
