UK oil giant weighs exit from North Sea

London-listed energy multinational bp is currently considering leaving all, or part, of its operations based in the UK North Sea.

The oil major is carrying out an internal review focused on its UK upstream operations that, if fully divested, could bring in £2 billion to manage financial debts and losses.

Shares in the company have increased by close to around 60 per cent over the past 12 months, with stock value spiking with the surging oil prices of the ongoing Iran war. As a result, the company presently has a market capitalisation of approximately £90 billion.

One of the last remaining major oil companies still running operations in the UK North Sea, many of bp’s peers like ConocoPhillips and the Chevron Corporation have sold their assets. However, other companies have restructured parts of their position, divested assets or formed joint ventures in the regions. These include Shell, Mobil and TotalEnergies, owner of the Total lubricants brand.

During the past decade, bp has diminished its presence in the UK North Sea through actions like the transfer of ownership stakes in the Shearwater field to UK supermajor, Shell. However, the company still has a 45 per cent stake in the region’s Clair Field, a site recognised as the UK Continental Shelf’s largest oil field.

Since late 2025, bp has consented to offloading its majority stake in the Castrol lubricant brand for $6 billion and will sell its Germany-based Gelsenkirchen refinery to Klesch Group. These moves and the company’s review of North Sea operations are part of its strategy to improve its balance sheet through $20 billion in divestments before 2028.

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