Overview
- BP has begun an internal review under new chief executive Meg O’Neill that could lead to selling about £2bn of UK North Sea assets or a broader pullback, according to Bloomberg.
- BP says its UK portfolio still has “significant untapped potential” and it has not made any decision on a sale or exit.
- The UK’s energy profits levy, combined with ring‑fenced corporation tax, takes North Sea operators’ headline rate to about 78%, which industry groups say is deterring new investment and threatening future jobs and output.
- BP reported £2.4bn in first‑quarter profit and said oil trading linked to the Iran conflict lifted the result.
- After those results, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said profiting from a crisis is wrong and defended taxing windfall gains to fund cost‑of‑living support.