bp considers exit from UK North Sea as CEO reviews upstream portfolio
(Bloomberg) – bp Plc is considering potentially exiting part or all of its operations in the UK North Sea, people familiar with the matter said, as the oil giant works to strip assets and pay down debt.
London-listed bp is conducting an internal review of its upstream operations in the UK, which could fetch about £2 billion ($2.7 billion) in a full divestment, according to the people.
bp’s review is ongoing and there’s no certainty that the company will decide to pursue any divestment in the North Sea, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.
Shares of bp have risen almost two thirds in London trading over the last 12 months, with the stock boosted in part by surging oil prices amid the ongoing war in Iran. The company has a market capitalization of around £90 billion.
A representative for bp declined to comment.
The company is among the last remaining oil majors operating in the UK North Sea, with peers such as Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips having sold assets. Others like Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp. and TotalEnergies SE have moved to divest or restructure parts of their positions, including through joint ventures.
bp has been shrinking its own presence in the region over the last decade, including via the sales of its interest in the Shearwater field to Shell and the Forties pipeline system to Ineos Group Holdings SA. bp still holds a 45% stake in the Clair Field — the largest oil field on the UK Continental Shelf.
Fresh disposals could be among the first by Meg O’Neill, who in April became the first outsider to take up the role of bp’s chief executive officer. O’Neill and bp’s Chairman Albert Manifold have pledged to reverse years of underperformance, which has brought pressure from activist shareholder Elliott Investment Management and cost former CEO Murray Auchincloss his job.
During an earnings conference call in April, O’Neill said that every part of bp needs to be asking “what are the assets that are with us for the long term, and what are things that might be of greater value in someone else’s hands?”
bp is targeting about $20 billion in divestments by the end of 2027, part of a strategic reset aimed at improving its balance sheet. Since late last year, it has agreed to offload a majority stake in its Castrol lubricants division for $6 billion and struck a sale of its Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany to Klesch Group.
Carol Howle, bp’s deputy CEO, is overseeing a review of the company’s global portfolio.
