London, May 14, 2026, 13:09 BST
- BP bought a 40% stake in six Uzbekistan exploration blocks, its first project in the country.
- The deal fits CEO Meg O’Neill’s push to simplify BP and put more capital behind oil and gas.
- A U.S. refinery labor dispute remains a near-term risk, with talks set to resume Monday.
BP has taken a 40% stake in a production sharing agreement covering six oil and gas exploration blocks in Uzbekistan’s North Ustyurt region, the latest sign that the London-listed major is putting more weight behind conventional energy assets. A production sharing agreement is a contract that sets how output, costs and profit are split between a state and project partners.
The timing matters. BP is only weeks into a management reset under CEO Meg O’Neill, who took over on April 1 and has told staff a reorganisation into upstream and downstream units will start in June. That structure is closer to the old oil-major model than the renewables-led shape BP adopted under former CEO Bernard Looney.
Investors are watching whether BP can add future barrels without stretching a balance sheet already under scrutiny. BP reported first-quarter underlying replacement cost profit of $3.2 billion on April 28, helped by strong oil trading, but net debt rose to $25.3 billion and the company has suspended buybacks to focus on debt reduction.
BP bought 20% each from Azerbaijan’s SOCAR and Uzbekistan’s Uzbekneftegaz. After the transaction, BP holds 40%, while SOCAR and Uzbekneftegaz each retain 30%; SOCAR remains operator. The blocks are Boyterak, Terengquduq, Birqori, Kharoy, Qoraqalpoq and Qulboy.
The project is still at an early stage. The PSA was first signed in July 2025 by SOCAR, Uzbekneftegaz and Uzbekistan’s energy ministry, and SOCAR is carrying out seismic work, the data-gathering step used to map underground rock structures before drilling. No purchase price, resource estimate or drilling timetable was disclosed.
Gio Cristofoli, BP’s regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye, called Uzbekistan BP’s “first project” in the country and said the company saw “significant resource potential” there. He said the move also supported BP’s plan to grow its exploration portfolio for long-term organic growth. Rigzone
The deal also marks a reversal of sorts. BP pulled out of exploration in the region in 2021 while Looney was pushing a greener strategy that included a pledge to cut oil and gas output by 40% by 2030. BP had first signed exploration deals with SOCAR and Uzbekneftegaz in 2018.
BP’s peers are moving through the same oil-price cycle from stronger positions on shareholder returns. Shell reported first-quarter profit of $6.9 billion last week and raised its dividend by 5%, while TotalEnergies lifted its dividend and said it would buy back $1.5 billion of shares in the second quarter. BP, by contrast, has kept cash closer to home after its February buyback suspension.
The downside is that Uzbekistan is still exploration risk, not production. Early seismic work can point to targets, but it does not prove commercial hydrocarbons, and BP is entering as the biggest shareholder without operating control. A dry well, slow permitting or higher costs would push any payoff further out.
There is also a nearer-term labor overhang in the United States. BP and the United Steelworkers union said Wednesday they would meet Monday to resume contract talks at BP’s Whiting, Indiana, refinery, the largest in the U.S. Midwest at 440,000 barrels per day. About 800 workers have been locked out since March 19.
BP said it wanted an agreement that protects jobs while improving refinery performance and safety. Eric Schultz, president of USW Local 7-1, said the union would again ask BP to lift the lockout and drop demands involving more than 100 job cuts, pay cuts and changes to bargaining and seniority rights.
BP’s London shares closed at 544.10 pence on Wednesday, down 0.46%, and the stock was marked ex-dividend on Thursday. The Uzbekistan move is not large enough by itself to change BP’s near-term earnings path, but it adds another marker to a strategy now built around debt reduction, simpler operations and a bigger upstream pipeline.
