London's Financial Times reported (subscription restricted) briefly over the weekend that business and banking insiders are saying that BP PLC is again considering selling its 26-percent, operator's share of Alaska's Prudhoe Bay. A day later, Forbes magazine reported in greater length on the rumors. That report says the oil major is renewing talks with Apache Corp. over Prudhoe assets, talks that were set aside a while ago. Forbes notes that BP recently announced it has increased the  amount of cash it hopes to gain through worldwide asset sales to cover the costs associated with the Deepwater Horizon disaster, from $30 billion to $40 billion. Read more, here. And check out the following links for reports in late July from Alaska Dispatch about BP and Apache, and Apache and Cook Inlet.

[Update 9/7, 8:15 a.m. AKDT] Bill Mintz of Apache Corp. responded to Alaska Dispatch's request for comment regarding the newly resurrected rumblings by writing in an email, "As we said before, we don’t comment on rumors and speculation."