BP starts process to sell stakes in two Gulf of Mexico projects, sources say

LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - British oil major BP has started a process to sell stakes in two of its Gulf of Mexico projects, four people with knowledge of the matter said, in what would be one of new CEO Meg O'Neill's first moves.

BP, one of the largest operators in the Gulf of Mexico, has been weighing a sale of minority stakes in the Kaskida and Tiber projects for more than a year, with each estimated to be worth billions of dollars to the company, Reuters has previously reported.

The four people did not give the size of the stakes BP is looking to sell and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

BP declined a Reuters request for comment.

Oil and gas companies often offer minority stakes in projects in development to free up capital invested in them.

BP reset its strategy last year to refocus on oil and gas investments, departing from its foray into renewables after criticism from investors and a poor share performance.

CEO O'Neill, who is from Boulder, Colorado, and is the company's first external hire in more than a century, took up the role in April. 

The Kaskida and Tiber projects are considered BP's top prospects in the Gulf of Mexico, with each expected to have production capacity of 80,000 barrels of oil a day. Kaskida is expected to start production in 2029 and Tiber in 2030.

The London-listed company is increasingly reliant on the U.S. to drive growth. It aims to increase its U.S. upstream output to around 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030, just under half of its target to produce between 2.3 million and 2.5 million boepd globally in that timeframe.

Oil prices have gained over 40% so far this year, as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has disrupted global supply. 

(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)