BP held talks to sell North Sea assets to Ithaca for £2 billion, FT reports

June 2 (Reuters) - BP held advanced talks to sell its UK North Sea assets to Ithaca Energy in a deal worth nearly £2 billion ($2.69 billion), the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

While the talks failed in recent weeks, BP is still exploring options and may pursue a deal with other competitors, the report said.

Ithaca Energy declined to comment, while BP did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Bloomberg News reported last month that BP was weighing a sale of some or all of its UK North Sea operations.

The energy major operates five key production hubs in the North Sea region, including the Clair oilfield, the largest on the UK continental shelf, according to its website.

Under new CEO Meg O'Neill, who took charge in April, BP is reorganising into two main business units - upstream and downstream.

The company has cut billions of dollars from planned renewable energy projects, pledged to divest $20 billion of assets by 2027, and reduce debt and costs.

($1 = 0.7429 pounds)

(Reporting by Fabiola Arámburo in Mexico City; Editing by Diti Pujara)