Shell CEO Peter Voser has confirmed that the company considered a takeover for BP in the wake of the gulf of Mexico disaster, which affected the British major's share price. "I can't imagine that there was anyone in our industry that didn't have a look at it. At the end of the day we're all business people," he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Equity analysts have speculated over the past 18 months that a foreign buyer might snap up BP, which is still in the process of recovering from the disaster. State-owned companies from China or Russia, however, were seen as the most likely buyers. BP recently agreed a multibillion-pound share swap and exploration deal with Rosneft to divest its TNK-BP joint venture.
Voser declined to comment on whether Shell is still interested in a merger of the two companies.
PetrolWorld 17122012