Energy · North Sea sale · ArchiveBP Drops 'British' From Its Future: North Sea Sale Tests New PM's PromiseAired August 1, 2026 at 9:48 AM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00BP, the company once called British0:02Petroleum, wants to sell its British oil0:04and gas fields in the North Sea.0:06Reuters correspondent Shadia Nasralla0:08calls it symbolically a blow to0:10Britain's standing as an industrial0:12nation and as a destination for big0:14companies. The proposed sale is part of0:16a $20 billion divestment program BP0:19launched after years of turbulence and0:21pressure to boost profitability and0:22reduce debt. The timing collides0:24directly with a political transition in0:26London. Andy Burnham has become the new0:29UK Prime Minister and has pledged to0:31re-industrialize the nation. But the0:33basin BP is preparing to leave is in0:35steep decline. At the turn of the0:36millennium, Britain produced roughly 40:38and 1/2 million barrels of oil0:40equivalent per day, placing it alongside0:42OPEC heavyweights like Iraq. Today, that0:44figure has fallen to around 1 million0:46barrels per day and is on a declining0:47trajectory. The industry blames an0:49unstable tax regime that has0:51flip-flopped repeatedly over the last0:53two decades, deterring the long-term0:55investment needed to sustain production.0:58BP is not alone. Over the past 10 years,1:00most oil majors have restructured their1:02British North Sea holdings, selling to1:04smaller companies, private equity firms,1:07or offloading assets into joint1:08ventures. The contradiction facing1:10Burnham is sharp. He has promised to1:12rebuild British industry, yet one of the1:14country's most iconic industrial1:16companies is preparing to walk away from1:18its own backyard, driven out in part by1:20the very policy instability his1:22government inherits. BP has not named a1:24buyer and no sale is final. But the1:26unresolved question is whether any new1:28Prime Minister can reverse the1:30conditions that have shrunk a once1:31world-class energy basin to a fraction1:34of its former self, or whether the North1:36Sea's long decline is now beyond any1:38government's power to stop.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗