BRITAIN’S outgoing government has told BP Plc. that it wants the company to remain a British industrial champion and it would oppose any takeover of the oil producer, the Financial Times reported yesterday.

    The message follows the US$70 billion deal to acquire rival producer BG by oil major Royal Dutch Shell, which has sparked speculation of a larger wave of consolidation similar to the one at the end of 1990s during another oil price decline.

    British officials have said the British Government would be “skeptical” about any takeover — even if it involves Royal Dutch Shell — because it wants the country to have two big global oil companies, the report said.

    Officials acknowledge the British Government has few formal powers to block a bid, but a senior City of London figure briefed on government thinking said making its opposition so clear may deter any foreign bidder from offering a bid.

    BP said it had no comment on the report.

    The paper quotes the British Government as saying, “The government talks to a wide range of U.K. businesses, as you would expect. It is in the U.K.’s interest to have British companies competing and succeeding at home and abroad.”

    The British Government, led by Conservative Party Prime Minister David Cameron, is facing election May 7 and is neck to neck in approval ratings with the rival Labor Party. (SD-Agencies)