Overview
- BP completed the sale of the Gelsenkirchen refining complex to independent refiner Klesch Group, a transaction confirmed on Monday that transfers the Horst and Scholven sites and the Bottrop tank farm to the buyer.
- The agreement moves the refinery’s employees and associated pension obligations, provisions and short-term liabilities to Klesch, with BP saying the deal is expected to be free-cash-flow accretive.
- BP said the divestment will reduce the group’s underlying operating expenditure by around $1 billion and that its Refining Indicator Margin and Rule of Thumb metrics will be updated in its Q2 2026 results to reflect the change.
- The sale cuts BP’s refining footprint to five refineries — Cherry Point, Whiting, Castellón, Lingen and Rotterdam — as the company seeks to concentrate capital on higher-return projects under CEO Meg O’Neill.
- The transaction is part of a wider portfolio simplification that includes formally marketing BP’s North Sea business and is intended to strengthen BP’s balance sheet while simplifying downstream operations.