bp’s three UK production strongholds are at the Clair and Schiehallion oil fields west of Shetland (the company was the first to launch developments in this area) and the ETAP complex in the central UK North Sea.

Challenges facing the UK North Sea

Before successive UK governments introduced and then increased windfall taxes on the industry from 2022 onwards, the company had considered a third standalone development of the giant Clair Field, Clair South.

But development of UK fields of all types has stalled in recent times, due to a combination of fiscal conditions, hostility to new exploration licenses and zealous opponents mounting successful legal challenges to planned new projects.

Of the 24 fields that bp operates in the North Sea, the Financial Times reported that half are entering the decommissioning phase with projected decommissioning costs of up to $3 billion. The company may opt to retain those fields, the newspaper suggested, to secure a higher price for the productive part of its business.

bp's growth focus extends beyond the North Sea

It’s not just the UK where the company has sought to scale back its activities. Earlier in July it announced that it would exit the high potential, but also high cost Bay du Nord project offshore eastern Canada, leaving Equinor as the sole owner.

bp sees better growth prospects in other E&P jurisdictions, notably offshore India. In June, the company signed a new technical services contract with operator ONGC. This expands their collaboration from the Mumbai High complex, signed in February 2025, to fields in the Western Offshore Basin.

This should lead to broader deployment of more modern technologies, bp said, across multiple mature hydrocarbon production centers.

While ONGC will retain full operational control of the assets, bp will work with the company’s multi-disciplinary teams to identify opportunities for interventions covering reservoirs, wells and production facilities.

As before, the main goals are to slow natural production declines, boost hydrocarbon recovery and operations efficiency, and support sustained production growth.

Over the first two years of the new contract, bp will receive a fixed fee, to be followed by a service fee linked to a percentage share of revenue generated from net incremental hydrocarbon production.