bp Puts UK North Sea Upstream Business Up for Sale, Valued Near USD 2.6 Billion

bp has put its UK North Sea upstream business up for sale, opening a marketing process covering its holdings west of Shetland and in the ETAP area. Rystad Energy puts a value of roughly USD 2.6 billion on the business.

Five offshore production hubs sit inside the package. West of Shetland, bp is offering its stakes in Glen Lyon, Clair and Clair Ridge; in the central North Sea, the interests are Andrew and ETAP.

"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," bp CEO Meg O'Neill said. The USD 2.6 billion figure comes from Rystad Energy rather than from bp.

bp operates 24 fields in the North Sea, and half of those are moving into decommissioning, with costs projected at up to USD 3 billion, according to the Financial Times. That liability sits above the Rystad valuation of the producing business.

The workforce attached to the operation numbered approximately 1,100 in the North Sea business in 2025, out of nearly 14,000 bp employees across the UK. The five marketed hubs are a smaller set than bp's full operated field count.