BP (BP) Says No to Most 2010 Bonuses

Executives at BP (NYSE:BP) who had responsibility connected to operations in the Gulf of Mexico won't be receiving bonuses for 2010, according to the oil giant in its annual report, including former CEO Tony Hayward and Andy Inglis, who had been head of exploration and production at the time.

Current CEO Bob Dudley also decided to not take a bonus for 2010, although a couple of other directors in unrelated units will get bonuses based on performance.

The two receiving bonuses are head of refining Iain Conn and Chief Financial Officer Bryan Grote. Conn will receive a bonus of $170,000, while Grote will receive $207,000. Both met the targets presented to them within their respective divisions.

Bonus decisions for 2010 were mostly based on scale and impact of the Gulf spill, said BP.

BP was trading at $47.91, down $0.30, or 0.62 percent, as of 12:23 PM EST.

BP's (NYSE:BP) CEO Robert Dudley Says Rosneft Won't Affect Dividend Decision

The deal announcement after the market closed on Friday that BP was going to swap shares with Russia’s OAO Rosneft in a $7.8 billion deal.

Asked in a Bloomberg television interview on whether or not it would affect the dividend decision, Dudley stated, “It doesn’t impact the dividend decision. Our decisions have yet to be made on the dividend. We have a new set of shareholders, but it’s not going to change that.”

The benefit and purpose of the deal is for the two companies to drill off the north coast of Russia in the Kara Sea in the Arctic circle. Regions in the Arctic could hold up to $100 billion barrels of oil.

BP will get a 9.5 percent stake of Rosneft while Rosneft will get 5 percent stake in BP.

Russia's Rosneft Acquires 5 Percent Stake in BP (NYSE:BP)

More news is coming out concerning the deal between BP (NYSE:BP) and the largest oil company in Russia: Rosneft. The latest is the Russian oil giant has taken a 5 percent stake in BP common shares in exchange for approximately 9.5 percent of Rosneft.

BP and Russia have had a cooperation agreement in place since 2006, but this is the real first action that has been taken since then by the two entities.

According to BP, they said in a statement that it will "create strategic alignment to pursue joint projects and demonstrates mutual confidence in the growth potential of both companies."

Russia's Vladimir Putin has signed off on the deal, which BP's CEO Bob Dudley said will result in the development of the Kara Sea region in the Siberian North.

BP closed Friday at $49.25, gaining $1.71, or 3.60 percent.

BP (NYSE:BP) Increases Iraq's Rumaila Oil Field Production by 10 Percent

After what is being described as a "massive undertaking," BP (NYSE:BP) announced they've managed to increase the oil production at the Rumaila oil field in Iraq by 10 percent.

BP Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said in a statement, "Reaching this production milestone is a great achievement and underlines BP's success in building its presence in the region. Increasing production at Rumaila, the world's fourth largest oilfield, has been a massive undertaking."

BP and partner China National Petroleum Corp. have said they're willing to increase production at the field to 2.85 million bpd a day within seven years.

Part of the requirements for receiving an Iraqi contract were companies had to increase production by 10 percent within a period of three years, starting in 2009 when they took effect.

BP (NYSE:BP) Holding On To All Trinidad Assets

Meeting with officials from Trinidad and Tobago, BP (NYSE:BP) CEO Bob Dudley said the company has no intention of selling any of its assets there.

Dudley said: "Selling BP's Trinidad assets was never an option. The Trinidad operations have had consistently strong safety and business performance and remain of strategic importance to the BP Group."

"It is very rewarding to see the progress that has taken place in Trinidad and Tobago over the past decades and to see the growth in the energy sector and the prosperity that it has brought to the country," he added.

BP produces about 450,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day in Trinidad, accounting for approximately ten per cent of their global hydrocarbon production.

BP (NYSE:BP) Must Wait for Devon (NYSE:DVN) Oil Block Decision from Brazil

The state oil director of Brazil, ANP, told BP (NYSE:BP) they'll have to wait until 2011 before they decide on whether or not to allow them to go ahead with a proposed acquisition of offshore oil blocks from Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN).

ANP said they want to get more clarity on the plans of BP for the oil blocks before they make the decision.

Also of concern was a requirement for more information on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and failure which led to the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Haroldo Lima, director general of the ANP, is interested in the long-term commitment of BP, and whether that's part of their strategy. BP Chief Executive Officer Robert Dudley has said they're interested in a long-term relationship with Brazil.

BP (NYSE:BP) Sells Stake in Pan American Energy for $7.06 Billion

BP (NYSE:BP) has moved $7 billion closer to its goal of raising about $30 billion to pay for its liabilities arising from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Their latest divestiture is their 60 percent stake in Pan American Energy, which they've reportedly sold for $7.06 billion.

BP Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said, "Today's agreement further demonstrates both the high quality and attractiveness of the assets throughout BP's portfolio, and also the company's ability to meet our significant financial commitments arising from the Gulf of Mexico tragedy."

With this sale it brings the total raised from selling assets by BP to about $20 billion. The goal of BP is to raise an additional $10 billion by the end of 2011, added the company.

Pan American participated in oil and gas exploration, along with production in relationship to Bridas Corp., which owns 40 percent of Pan American. China National Offsore Oil Corp. owns half of Bridas.

China National Offshore Corp is the company acquiring the 60 percent stake of BP's in Pan American.