Amid takeover rumors, the British government said it's in the best interest for the country to have BP remain active as a player on the global stage.

Energy companies have looked to mergers and acquisitions as a way to cope with a weakened oil market skewed heavily toward the supply side. In late 2014, oil services company Halliburton made a bid on rival Baker Hughes. In one of the largest acquisitions in more than 15 years, Royal Dutch Shell this month bought British energy company BG Group for $70 million.

BP, which posted a fourth quarter loss of $968 million, has been rumored as a takeover target from U.S. supermajor Exxon Mobil. British media reports, however, indicate the government has met with BP officials to express their concerns about any possible takeover bid.

"The government talks to a wide range of U.K. businesses, as you would expect," a spokesperson was quoted as saying Sunday by The Daily Telegraph. "It is in the U.K.'s interest to have British companies competing and succeeding at home and abroad."

BP began streamlining operations late last year. The company said it could cope with lower oil prices, but top officials said a "simplification plan" would help with streamlining capital.

BP has said it could handle operations with an oil price as low as $60 per barrel, about 7.5 percent below the current price for Brent.

There was no comment available from BP. The British government sold its stake in the company in the late 1980s, leaving it relatively powerless to step in should BP become an official takeover target.