BP puts UK North Sea oil and gas assets up for sale as CEO pushes overhaul
The business includes five production hubs and 1,100 staff, as BP says it is focusing capital on higher-value opportunities.
- On Friday, BP announced it is putting its UK North Sea business up for sale after 60 years of production, with Chief Executive Meg O'Neill stating the unit would be 'better positioned as part of another company.'
- Operating with 1,100 staff, the business produced 117,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025, a move fitting O'Neill's strategy to reduce debt and focus on higher-value opportunities.
- Major peers including Shell, Chevron, and ExxonMobil have similarly reduced operations in the region, where output has plummeted to around 1 million barrels daily from 4.5 million at the millennium.
- Russell Borthwick, Chief Executive of the Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, warned the move reflects 'years of policy uncertainty, punitive taxation and mixed messages' affecting confidence in the UK Continental Shelf.
- Prime Minister Andy Burnham recently confirmed he told Donald Trump he would 'take a pragmatic approach' regarding North Sea resources, though Labour's 2024 manifesto pledged to stop issuing new licenses.
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BP is launching its UK North Sea business for sale, following oil giants such as ExxonMobil, Shell or Chevron. The proceeds are estimated at more than two billion dollars.
BP Puts North Sea Business Up for Sale, Ending 60 Years of Production
BP is ending six decades of North Sea production by putting its entire UK business up for sale, with the windfall tax and a tougher investment climate blamed for pushing energy companies away from Britain.
The British oil and gas company BP wants to sell its business activities in the North Sea, ending an almost 70-year tradition.
BP seeks to sell North Sea business as UK faces drilling dilemma
LONDON: BP has launched moves to sell its North Sea business, the British oil and gas giant announced on Friday (Jul 31), as new Prime Minister Andy Burnham faces pressure to ease drilling restrictions in the area."The North Sea remains integral to the UK's energy system," BP chief executive Meg O'Neill said
British Petroleum, the local hydrocarbon champion, announced on Friday, July 31, 2026, that it was considering selling all of its North Sea operations, turning away from an aging basin as the British government is under pressure to allow more drilling.
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