BP prepares to permanently plug Macondo well, Sage drops out of TeamSystem bidding

Battered oil and gas

supermajor BP (LON:BP) is set to begin an operation dubbed static kill to permanently plug its Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico to stop the oil leak that has so far wiped oil more than a third of the company’s market cap for good. Mud will be pumped into the reservoir to capture the oil inside and prevent it from leaking, bringing the well pressure down to zero.
BP announced the resignation of gaffe prone Chief Executive Tony Hayward this week, naming former CEO of Russian JV (joint venture) and current Managing Director Bob Dudley as his successor. Dudley will take over from Hayward on 1 October this year.
The asset sale is progressing with BP announcing that it is looking to sell assets in Pakistan and Vietnam. The company is looking to raise US$30 billion to pay off the charges stemming from the oil spills. BP’s gas fields in Vietnam have already drawn interest from Indian companies.

BP announced a record £11 billion Q2 loss this week.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that the owners of BP branded gas stations in the US are considering rebranding them to Amoco, the brand of a US oil and gas major that merged with BP in 1998.
Dow Jones Newswires has reported that software developer Sage Group (LON:SGE) has pulled out of the action for Italian software company TeamSystem, which is being shopped by its owner Bain Capital, leaving Cinven Group and HgCapital as the only bidders. Sage has earlier withdrawn from bidding only to re-enter after UBS (NYSE:UBS) agreed to cut the price. According to Dow Jones, Bain is looking to sell the asset for €600 million, 6 years after purchasing it for €274 million.
Next week will see the release of interim reports from Britain’s major banks, including Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS), Lloyds (LON:LLOY), Standard Chartered (LON:STAN), HSBC (LON:HSBA) and Barclays (LON:BARC). Lloyds is projected to post a profit of nearly £1 billion. The report from another part-nationalized bank, RBS (LON:RBS), could show profits of up to £500 million.