LONDON, March 17, 2026, 14:06 GMT
BP shares rose more than 1% in London on Tuesday, while its U.S.-listed shares were up nearly $1 at $43.90 by 13:51 UTC, as renewed Iranian attacks on the United Arab Emirates pushed Brent crude back above $100 a barrel. The move put BP back at the center of a wider run into European energy stocks. 1
The rally matters more for BP now because the company last month paused its $750 million quarterly buyback to steer cash to debt reduction and a deeper shift back into oil and gas. Shell and Exxon kept their buybacks intact, leaving BP with less cover when oil is weak and more upside when crude jumps. 2
Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 1.7% to $101.94 by 1315 GMT as traders weighed fresh damage at Fujairah and the still-disrupted Strait of Hormuz, which carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas trade. IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said “the risks remain stark,” while OANDA analyst Kelvin Wong said charts still pointed to “WTI’s medium-term resistance at $124 a barrel.” 3
BP had already gained more than 1% on Monday even after oil retreated, and the FTSE energy sector hit a record high on Tuesday with Shell up more than 1% as well. That pattern suggests traders still expect the supply shock to outlast the daily swings in crude. 4
There was fresh company news too. BP said on Monday its Angola joint venture, Azule Energy, had started gas production at the Quiluma field, part of Angola’s first non-associated gas project — gas drawn from wells without much crude oil. Initial output is expected at 150 million standard cubic feet a day, rising to 330 million by the end of 2026. 5
But the trade can unwind fast. Brent fell 2.8% on Monday after some vessels made it through Hormuz and Washington said it would allow some Iranian, Indian and Chinese ships to pass, while the International Energy Agency discussed more emergency stock releases. Bank of America said a quick reopening could pull Brent back toward $70. 4
BP is not just a beneficiary of higher oil prices. Reuters calculations based on its latest annual report show the company produced about 503,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the Middle East and Egypt in 2025 — an industry measure that combines oil and gas output — or roughly 22% of its total production, compared with about 11% for Shell. A wider regional outage could lift prices and still hit BP’s own volumes. 6
The broader market is still trading carefully ahead of rate decisions from the Bank of England, Federal Reserve and European Central Bank, with markets pricing roughly a 50% chance of a BoE hike in November and economists pushing expected UK rate cuts out to April or June. For now, BP’s share price is trading like a blunt read-through on oil and balance-sheet repair, an inference supported by the climb in crude, the sector and the stock itself. 1
