BP reportedly in talks to sell Alaska oil field

[IDemo]

Source: msnbc

Prized Prudhoe Bay asset part of $12 billion deal to help pay for Gulf disaster

updated 7/11/2010 12:42:35 AM ET

LONDON — BP is in talks to sell up to $12 billion of assets, including its big stake in Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay, the largest oil field in North America, The Sunday Times of London reported.

A sale would be the latest of several steps the beleaguered oil giant is taking to raise money to pay for damages from the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Times said.

BP has entered talks with American rival Apache Corp., which approached the British company, the Times said. Negotiations are under way over the structure of the agreement and what other assets could be included, it said.

Houston, Texas-based Apache describes itself as an independent energy company in exploration and development of natural gas and crude oil. The firm operates in the United States, Canada, Egypt, Australia, North Sea and Argentina. Apache is worth $30 billion and is one of America's largest independent oil groups, according to Reuters. Apache reported first-quarter earnings of $705 million on revenue of $2.7 billion. Its shares closed Friday up 48 cents at $87.88.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38186798/ns/disaster_in_the_gulf/

[Trillo]

1. So what kind of sales tax is applied to such a, presumably large, corporate sale?

Or is there no sales tax applied?

[TheWraith]

2. Alaska doesn't have a sales tax. nt

[Trillo]

4. Ah, right. Thanks for the reminder.

I had forgotten. :banghead:

One of the benefits of being a global corporation in a world that only collects state and local income taxes from non-soveriegns, in the states and localities that have such taxation laws(!), is that you can simply buy off the national congress to create loopholes in accounting laws so creatively no money appears to have been made or changes hands, thus lowering corporations tax liabilities. Some of the largest corporations reportedly have "negative taxation".

IF it were possible to apply a sales tax to asset sales of corporations, in the same manner that asset sales apply to citizens who sell (or buy) items (large or small), then that would be one way, theoretically, to eliminate some taxation loopholes and at the very least force global corporations that do have negative taxation loads in spite of a theoretical 35% (IIRC) U.S. corporate tax, to pay something.

edit: http://www.ctj.org/corpfed04pr.pdf">negative taxation (PDF) BP isn't on that list.

[dipsydoodle]

3. I would guess

that any similar such sales of either /or both assets and licences within the USA, regardless of type of industry, should provide an answer to that question.

[rzemanfl]

5. Excuse my paranoia, but Obama should have the NSA watching

offshore and Swiss banks very closely for the under the table parts of any such deal.

[Winterblues]

6. The oil from the North Slope reached it's peak several years ago

Production has been declining now for about five years...It is a good time for BP to bail and hope it can somehow get in on ANWR when the Obama Administration allows drilling there..I have no doubt that is going to happen before he leaves office..