EnQuest CEO confirms interest in bp’s UK North Sea portfolio
EnQuest PLC is interested in acquiring bp’s UK North Sea oil and gas business, chief executive Amjad Bseisu told CNBC on September 3, 2026.
Asked directly whether the company wanted the assets, Bseisu replied “yes,” adding that only a handful of companies remain that would be in a position to take them on. He said there is still a “tremendous opportunity” in the UK oil and gas sector.
bp launched a formal marketing process for the portfolio on 31 July 2026. The assets comprise five production hubs: Andrew and ETAP in the central North Sea, and Glen Lyon, Clair and Clair Ridge west of Shetland. They employ around 1,100 people. A sale would represent a major withdrawal by bp from a basin it has operated in for about 60 years. Reports in mid-August put the package at around £2.5 billion and indicated that bp is seeking a single cash buyer for the whole portfolio.
EnQuest already has a long relationship with these assets. In 2017 it bought an initial 25% stake in the Magnus field from bp (later increasing its economic exposure) along with related infrastructure and a small interest in the Sullom Voe terminal. The company operates mainly on the UK Continental Shelf and has repeatedly stated it remains committed to the North Sea even as it expands in Southeast Asia.
Industry commentary has named several possible bidders, including Neo Next+, Adura (the Shell–Equinor joint venture) and Ithaca Energy. Smaller independents such as EnQuest and Serica Energy have also been mentioned, though some analysts have suggested they may find it easier to pursue individual assets if the package is broken up rather than buying the entire portfolio.
EnQuest is simultaneously completing a separate $833-million acquisition of interests in four Malaysian production-sharing contracts, targeted to close on December 31, 2026. Management has said that deal does not preclude further North Sea transactions and that the company remains active in both regions. No formal bid, offer terms or exclusivity arrangements with bp have been announced.
About the Author
Bruce BeaubouefBruce Beaubouef
Senior Lead Reporter / Managing Editor
Bruce Beaubouef is Managing Editor for Offshore magazine. In that capacity, he plans and oversees content for the magazine; writes features on technologies and trends for the magazine; writes news updates for the website; creates and moderates topical webinars; and creates videos that focus on offshore oil and gas and renewable energies. Beaubouef has been in the oil and gas trade media for 25 years, starting out as Editor of Hart’s Pipeline Digest in 1998. From there, he went on to serve as Associate Editor for Pipe Line and Gas Industry for Gulf Publishing for four years before rejoining Hart Publications as Editor of PipeLine and Gas Technology in 2003. He joined Offshore magazine as Managing Editor in 2010, at that time owned by PennWell Corp. Beaubouef earned his Ph.D. at the University of Houston in 1997, and his dissertation was published in book form by Texas A&M University Press in September 2007 as The Strategic Petroleum Reserve: U.S. Energy Security and Oil Politics, 1975-2005.