It isn’t every day that a $7.1 billion deal falls through. Even rarer is a seller’s reaction that amounts to, “What, me worry?” But that’s what occurred over the weekend as BP plc (NYSE: BP) failed to meet a November 1st deadline for regulatory approvals of its sale of 60% of Argentina’s Pan American Energy to its partners, China’s Cnooc Ltd. (NYSE: CEO) and Argentina’s Bridas Corp.In a statement, BP noted that Bridas had the responsibility to obtain the anti-trust approval from both Chinese and Argentinian regulators. BP will now have to return a $3.5 billion cash down payment to Bridas/Cnooc. BP said it was “happy” to retain these “valuable” assets, “given the considerable improvement in its own financial strength and circumstances.”But in its most recent quarterly report, BP also said it now plans to boost its asset sales from a previously announced total of $30 billion to $45 billion. Before the cancellation of the Pan American sale, BP announced agreements to dispose of assets worth about $26 billion, including the sale to Bridas/Cnooc. That total now stands at around $19 billion.

A couple of developments could be responsible for the company’s casual attitude to the loss of the Pan American sale. First, its two partners in the Macondo well, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) and Japan’s MOEX, have kicked in $4 billion and $1 billion, respectively, to the reserve fund BP has set up to pay claims resulting for the explosion that killed 11 workers and dumped millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Anadarko also relinquished its 25% stake in the well.

BP still has claims outstanding against Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) and Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL), demanding a minimum of $40 billion from Transocean and an unspecified amount from Halliburton. BP is also seeking compensation from Cameron International Corp. (NYSE: CAM), makers of the blowout preventer that failed.

A recent federal investigation may have strengthened BP’s position in relation to both these outstanding lawsuits, so much so that Anadarko was willing to pay now in exchange for getting immunity from further payments. BP has got to be counting on at least some payments coming from Transocean and Halliburton to help ease the total $42 billion the company has so far committed to the clean-up and claims funds.

BP has so far gotten off pretty lightly in claims payments, having paid out just over $7 billion of the $20 billion it put into the claims fund back in 2010. That could lead the company to believe that it may get off the hook for as little as half the full amount. Coupled with the encouraging (for BP) report from the latest federal investigation, the $42 billion commitment may cost BP far less.

So why increase asset sales? Here’s what BP said in a statement over the weekend: “BP’s current divestment programme is focused on the sale of non-strategic assets and not driven by a requirement to raise cash. As such, BP does not currently plan to divest additional assets to offset proceeds which would have been received from the [Pan American] transaction.”

The company thinks it sees an upper limit to its liability for the Macondo disaster that is smaller than it originally planned for and believes that now is the time to return to more normal operations. The company has received permission for new drilling in the Gulf and is restarting its other operations there as well. BP also has $18 billion in cash that is not committed to the Gulf clean-up and claims funds.

BP may be right about its chances, but taking its fights with Transocean and Halliburton to court is at least as risky for BP as it is for the others. If BP is found to have been grossly negligent, its fines could jump three-fold. Even if it is ajudged innocent of gross negligence, the company remains on the hook for nearly $16 billion.

BP’s charm offensive dealing with the effects of the spill has had its intended effect on US regulators. The company’s production restart and new drilling permit are the evidence of that. The second part of its charm offensive is now going to be directed at investors through re-instated dividends and asset sales that will boost profits.

The Pan American sale could still happen, but not because BP needs the cash. If the deal happens now, it will accrue to the benefit of shareholders. That’s a pretty slick transition. And it only took BP a year to make it happen. Look for Bob Dudley to get a nice bonus in his next pay review.

Paul Ausick