BP CEO Meg O’Neill told Bloomberg News in an interview on Tuesday the company still thinks “there is untapped oil and gas potential” in the UK North Sea basin.

On July 31, BP confirmed it was launching a process to market its UK North Sea business for a potential sale.

“That’s a decision that was not made lightly,” said O’Neill. “And the rock quality is still good.”

O’Neill said the UK North Sea “just is not competitive within our portfolio.”

The BP CEO said: “Now that said, we have had plenty of companies come knocking at our door expressing interest in buying the assets.

“So I am confident that the fields will continue to be well managed in other hands.”

BP’s North Sea business has five production hubs — two in the central North Sea and three west of Shetland.

Asked if BP’s move was connected to UK Government policy, O’Neill replied: “UK government policy hasn’t helped … there have been a series of interventions … that changed the tax rate, changed the regulatory environment …

“When we think about our investment decisions … we want to have certainty that the fiscal terms are not going to change …”