LONDON (Reuters) - BP Plc is in talks to sell up to $12 billion of assets, including a stake in Alaska's Prudhoe Bay, to Apache Corp to help pay for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, The Sunday Times reported.
The oil major said in June it wanted to raise $10 billion pounds from sell-offs to boost a $20 billion fund for cleaning up what is, 83 days in, the worse oil spill in U.S. history.
The Sunday Times said Houston-based Apache approached BP <:BP.LO:>with the plan a few weeks ago and negotiations were under way on the structure of an agreement.
A BP spokesman declined to comment on market rumors or speculation.
The Sunday Times also said that the Obama administration had told Exxon
Exxon had sought clearance from Washington although there was no certainty it would make a move, the newspaper said.
Separately, the Independent on Sunday said Standard Chartered
The bank contributed $2 billion to the fund, with Credit Suisse
Standard Chartered was named in media reports in June as one of the banks advising on BP's asset sale.
Both Standard Chartered and BP declined to comment to the Independent on Sunday.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Hans Peters)
