Europe:BP nabs fields in the North Sea

The British government supports a plan by BP to broaden its exploration licenses in the regional waters of the North Sea, the company said.
British super major BP announced it won seven offshore exploration blocks in the North Sea during the latest licensing round from the British government.
BP has been offloading foreign assets to pay for the damages incurred from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico during the summer.
BP in its latest financial report said its $39.9 billion tab for the Gulf of Mexico spill "represented its current best estimate of those costs that can be reliably measured at this time."
Trevor Garlick, the company's regional president, said strong investments in the North Sea, however, were a boon to BP's continued success.
"These license awards are a significant success for BP and a further boost to the long-term future of our North Sea business," he said in a statement.
Garlick added that projects in the North Sea are part of a strong investment strategy in the region.
The awards were from the British Department of Energy and Climate Change.