BP Amoco PLC - Disposal

RNS Number:3826H
BP Amoco PLC
16 March 2000


BP AMOCO AND ARCO AGREE TO SELL
ALASKA BUSINESSES FOR $7 BILLION

BP Amoco and Atlantic Richfield Co (ARCO) today announced that they have
agreed to sell ARCO's Alaskan businesses to Phillips Petroleum Co of
Bartlesville,Oklahoma for $7 billion.

The sale, which is subject to completion of the ARCO combination, is intended
to address anti-trust concerns of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). BP
Amoco is currently in negotiation with the FTC to obtain a consent order for
the combination which was announced last April.

BP Amoco and ARCO have agreed jointly with the FTC, the US West Coast states
and Alaska to suspend litigation - originally scheduled to begin in California
on March 20 - pending the outcome of those negotiations.

BP Amoco chief executive Sir John Browne and ARCO chairman Mike Bowlin said:
"After months of uncertainty for staff and customers of BP Amoco and ARCO, and
the states and communities where we operate, we are pleased to be in
discussions with the FTC. Those discussions are constructive and today's sale
agreement greatly advances the prospects for their successful conclusion."

Browne described the price for the Alaskan businesses as "highly competitive"
and said that the combination with ARCO remained an excellent deal for BP
Amoco.

The sale to Phillips of all ARCO's Alaskan businesses includes a 21.9 per cent
interest in the Prudhoe Bay oil rim and 42.6 per cent of the gas cap, a 55 per
cent interest in the greater Kuparuk area and a 78 per cent stake in the
Alpine field. The package also includes 1.1 million net exploration acres, a
22.3 per cent interest in the Trans-Alaska pipeline, and ARCO's crude oil
shipping fleet which includes six tankers in service and three under
construction. The booked reserves being sold total 1.9 billion barrels of oil
equivalent.

The $7 billion price for the Alaskan businesses is made up of approximately
$6.5 billion for the field, pipeline and shipping operations and assets, plus
a supplemental payment of $500 million accruing as the WTI crude price exceeds
$25 a barrel, retroactive to January 1. There will also be a payment of some
$150 million for crude oil inventories.


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