BP’s $7 Billion Reliance Deal in India Pushes BRIC Strategy

Robert Dudley’s second $7 billion deal this year signals a shift for BP Plc toward the world’s fastest-growing economies as exploration drilling remains closed in the U.S. after the Macondo oil spill.

Dudley, the first American chief executive officer of the London-based company, agreed yesterday to pay Reliance Industries Ltd. $7.2 billion to help explore deepwater fields in India. That follows an $8 billion share swap with OAO Rosneft to expand into Russia’s Arctic Sea in January. Last year, BP signed a deal to explore off Brazil and sealed a partnership with Cnooc Ltd. for offshore licenses in the South China Sea.