UK oil and gas major BP is in negotiations with various insurers over a buy-in deal for its £30bn final salary pension scheme, reported the Financial Times (FT).

Citing five people familiar with the development, the publication stated that trustees are looking to pay an insurer to assume the pension scheme’s liabilities.

In its annual report, the company said that the scheme had a surplus of at least $4bn as of last year.

The UK scheme currently has over 60,000 members. It has been closed to new members since 2010.

As per energy analysts cited by FT, a deal could boost BP’s credit rating, as rating agencies can consider pensions as liabilities. 

A BP pension trustees spokesperson said they had a duty to “continually review and assess all investment options to manage the security of the fund and members’ benefits”, and that “such options include long-term insurance policies”.

According to the spokesperson, the transaction being considered would not result in a complete sale of the scheme or buyout.

It “would continue to operate as normal under the oversight of its independent trustee board”, added the spokesperson.

According to the FT report, the possibility of the talks translating into a transaction is uncertain.

If materialised, the deal is expected to set a new record, beating RSA’s buy-in deal closed this February with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), which is said to be the largest ever bulk annuity transaction from pension schemes to insurers.

The deal helped insure around £6.5bn of pension liabilities, covering 40,000 members.