BP is considering a potential exit from part or all of its UK North Sea operations, as the energy major reviews its global upstream portfolio and accelerates plans to raise cash through asset sales.
According to Bloomberg, the London-listed firm is conducting an internal review of its North Sea business, with a full divestment potentially worth around £2billion. The process is reportedly ongoing and no final decision has been made.
The move would mark a significant shift for one of the last remaining oil majors in the basin, following earlier exits or restructurings by companies including Chevron and ConocoPhillips, while others such as ExxonMobil have scaled back their positions.
BP has already reduced its North Sea footprint over the past decade, including the sale of its stake in the Shearwater field and the Forties pipeline system. It retains a 45% interest in the Clair field, the largest producing asset on the UK Continental Shelf.
The review comes as new chief executive Meg O’Neill undertakes a broader strategic reset, targeting $20 billion of divestments by 2027 to strengthen the balance sheet.
The developments also land against a backdrop of heightened political scrutiny of the sector.
Last week Energy Secretary Ed Miliband had to withdraw a tweet claiming that BP’s profits were “morally wrong” after criticism from economists and industry figures.
His original comments followed BP reporting quarterly profits of £2.4billion, largely driven by global trading activity rather than UK production.
Responding, Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce reiterated concerns about the narrative surrounding North Sea revenues and taxation.
“Energy companies pay their taxes where due on the profits they make. Ed Miliband knows this, but he is peddling a deliberately dishonest narrative in relation to the North Sea,” said chief executive Russell Borthwick.
He added that the current fiscal regime — with an effective 78% tax rate — is deterring investment, arguing that “the main beneficiaries profiting from the global energy crisis in the UK are the UK government".
Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, said: “Ed Miliband has been taxing and banning our oil and gas industry into oblivion. It is insanity which means we will lose the taxes, the jobs and energy security having our own oil and gas resources gives us.”