BP (NYSE:BP) Raises Assets Sale Target to $40 Billion

With mounting liabilities, BP (NYSE:BP) has reportedly increased its asset sale target from about $30 billion to $40 billion, according to The Sunday Times newspaper.

There is a double-edge sword to the selling of assets by BP, as while they are raising capital to take care of immediate liabilities, they are losing production, which ultimately leads to loss of revenue and profits.

Estimates are after assets sales production will decrease by close to 8 percent. It's uncertain how much that'll increase with an additional $10 billion in asset sales added to the final amount, although if they're similar to estimates based on $30 billion, they could be as high a $11 to $12 billion in lost production, depending on the assets sold.

Although the former talks with Apache over the 26 percent stake BP has in the Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska, fell apart, reports are Apache (NYSE:APA)is back in talks again with BP about acquiring at least a portion of the asset, while Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) has also been named as a potential suitor.