'Serious wake-up call': BP puts North Sea business up for sale as it ends six decades of oil production
The announcement comes after Prime Minister Andy Burnham left the door open for future North Sea drilling
BP has said it is putting its UK North Sea business up for sale after 60 years of production.
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The energy giant said the decision to market the business for a potential sale forms part of its strategy to slim down the group by selling off parts of the business.
The announcement comes after Prime Minister Andy Burnham left the door open for future North Sea drilling as he confirmed he told Donald Trump “we can’t ignore” the resources there.
He said he told the US president that he would “take a pragmatic approach when it comes to the North Sea”, adding: “There is a resource there. When people are struggling, we can’t ignore that.”
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Labour’s 2024 manifesto said the party would not issue new North Sea licences.
Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said: “I’m in close contact with BP and have made clear that my priority is ensuring that the workers and local community are protected during this sale process.
“The North Sea is a vital national asset and we will take a pragmatic approach, recognising that oil and gas will be part of our energy mix for years to come.
“I’m focused on doing right by the workers in the North Sea who have powered this country for generations.”
BP’s North Sea business has five production hubs – two in the central North Sea, and three west of Shetland – and produced 117,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025.
Some 1,100 staff work for the North Sea business, part of BP’s approximately 13,960-strong UK workforce.
BP’s chief executive Meg O’Neill said she believed the North Sea business would be “better positioned as part of another company”.
“The North Sea remains integral to the UK’s energy system,” she said.
“However, as we focus our portfolio and direct capital to our highest-value opportunities, we believe our North Sea business will be better positioned as part of another company.
“It has world-class people, resilient assets and a proud heritage, and it is precisely these qualities that can attract an owner ready to back its next chapter.
“We are seeking an outcome that recognises that value.”
Andrew Griffith - the Tory party's business spokesman - said: "This is one of those 'moments' that should serve as a deadly serious wake up call.
"Britain needs to compete - for energy, capital and talent - but the Government carries on putting up taxes and piling on red tape."
ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Shell, TotalEnergies and Eni have all sold, merged, spun off or otherwise reduced their operations in the ageing basin in recent years as production there falls and other locations offer more profitable projects.
BP, formerly known as British Petroleum, has worked in the North Sea for more than six decades and operates five major production hubs in the region, including the Clair oilfield, the largest on the UK continental shelf.
The company, which is expanding in regions such as the United States and Brazil, generated about 5 per cent of its oil and gas output from the British North Sea last year, around 117,000 barrels out of a total of 2.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.
BP has since agreed to sell its stake in the Culzean field which reduces its UK output by around 25,000 boed.
It will retain its UK aviation fuel distribution business, retail sites and its huge trading desk alongside its London headquarters, it said.