Occidental Middle East Asset Sale Delayed Due To Regional Disputes

Occidental Petroleum Corp is facing delays in its efforts to sell its stake in its Middle East business due to regional disputes over the Muslim Brotherhood, according to Bloomberg.

The oil and gas producer had said in October last year that it planned to sell a minority stake in its Middle East and North African operations as a part of a restructuring program to lift its valuation.

The oil and gas producer may be forced to split up its assets and sell them to individual countries as a result of political complications, Bloomberg said, quoting Chief Executive Officer Steve Chazen at the Howard Weil Energy Conference in New Orleans on Monday.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain earlier this month withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar in an unprecedented public split between Gulf Arab allies who have fallen out over the role of Islamists in a region in turmoil.

Reuters in early December reported that three state-owned Gulf firms were considering a joint bid for the company’s Middle East and North Africa unit, in a deal that could be worth between $8 billion and $10 billion. The Bloomberg report put the value of the deal at as much as $8 billion.

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Co, Qatar Petroleum and Oman Oil Co had formed a consortium, sources with knowledge of the matter had told Reuters.