BP Sells Mining Units, Plans Stock Buyback

LONDON — British Petroleum Co. began 1989 with two major deals Tuesday, saying it agreed to sell its huge mineral interests to the international mining group RTZ Corp. and would buy back a large chunk of its own shares from Kuwait.

BP, the world’s third-largest oil company and Britain’s biggest, said it would sell the mining operations, minus BP Canada Inc., to RTZ for $4.4 billion or 2.4 billion pounds.

By buying back 790 million of its own shares from the Kuwait Investment Office, BP will lower the Kuwait government’s stake in BP to 9.9% from 21.6%.

BP said it had agreed to pay Kuwait, a major oil producer and member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, $4.50 (2.47 pounds) each for the shares. The deal was valued at about $3.56 billion.

The British government last October ordered KIO, the London-based overseas investment arm of the Persian Gulf state, to slash its holding in the British firm to 9.9% within a year.

On the minerals deal, a BP statement said RTZ would assume responsibility for project financing of $66 million. The announcement followed news last month that both companies were discussing a deal.