ConocoPhillips may sell some N. American properties

ConocoPhillips said it is considering selling oil and gas properties in North America and in the North Sea, as well as pipelines and terminals in the U.S. and its 9 percent stake in Syncrude Canada, as part of a sweeping plan announced earlier this month to reduce company debts and improve shareholder returns, CEO Jim Mulva said today.

Under the plan, the company aims to sell $10 billion worth of company assets in 2010 and 2011 and slash its capital spending budget by 12 percent to $11 billion in 2010.

The company has no current plans to sell oil refineries as part of the $10 billion program, partly because valuations are so low at the moment, Mulva said. But by 2012 or 2013, if the market improves, it may consider unloading less-sophisticated and less competitive refineries, he said

…ConocoPhillips is targeting its bottom 10 percent of oil and gas properties in Canada and the lower 48 states and natural gas properties in the North Sea’s Southern basin.