LONDON, June 20, 2026, 16:04 BST
- BP finished Friday’s session at 503.80 pence, gaining 2.8% for the day. Shares still lost 5.7% for the week.
- Brent finished at $80.57 a barrel, down almost 8% from last Friday’s close.
- Iran said Saturday it shut the Strait of Hormuz, but Washington said it had no sign that shipping had stopped.
BP shares could see choppy trading on Monday after Iran’s military announced another shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz. That came less than 24 hours after the stock gained along with crude prices. London’s market stayed shut Saturday.
BP shares closed at 503.80 pence on Friday, up 2.81%, while the FTSE 100 slipped 0.35%. The gain did little to recover from losses earlier in the week. BP dropped 5.7% from last Friday’s 534.50 pence finish. Over the week, the FTSE 100 was down 1%.
BP traded more like a stand-in for the Middle East supply risk than a play on UK stocks. The stock’s move tracked Brent crude, which ended Friday at $80.57, up 0.9% on the day but down about 8% from $87.33 the week before.
Oil dropped this week with tankers moving again through Hormuz, as the market looked ahead to over 85 million barrels stuck in the Gulf getting released. “The market had been pricing in a deal and pretty seamless execution,” said Rory Johnston of Commodity Context. That view ran into trouble late Friday with Iran’s new conditions for passage. Reuters
The situation grew less clear Saturday. Iran’s joint military command claimed the waterway would close over what it says are ceasefire violations, warning this would be just a “first step”. U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters he hadn’t seen proof of a shutdown yet and expected upcoming talks with Iran in Switzerland. Reuters
BP runs shipments through the route. In April, BP said around 100,000 barrels a day in exports from Iraq and Abu Dhabi usually moved through Hormuz. The company said this was along with 5% to 10% of its liquefied natural gas business. “We’re controlling what we can control,” Chief Executive Meg O’Neill said, describing BP’s move to increase output in other areas. Reuters
BP’s trading unit saw a boost from the conflict, with first-quarter underlying replacement-cost profit jumping to $3.2 billion. That figure strips out inventory prices and one-offs, and more than doubled from a year earlier. But net debt moved up to $25.3 billion, and weaker oil prices may weigh on BP’s plan to shore up its balance sheet.
Peer Shell picked up 1.1% on Friday, closing at 2,993.50 pence after starting the week at 3,220.50 pence. The stock finished about 7% lower for the week. BP lost less over the same period, finishing ahead of its bigger London-listed rival, but both lagged the FTSE 100 as crude’s risk premium faded.
BP focus stays fixed on O’Neill’s turnaround plan. The company is set to switch to a simpler upstream and downstream model from July 1, putting more management attention on oil, gas, refining and customer business. But markets are watching cash generation now—question is if commodity profits and asset sales lower debt without another long supply shock.
Weekend risk isn’t one-sided. If Hormuz closes, oil could jump, with BP’s upstream and trading units seeing a lift. But cargo flows would be hit, freight rates could spike, and working-cap needs might go up. If there’s a real truce and exports come back, Brent could drop, pressuring cash flow. “Anything short of that will be a problem,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital. Reuters
London trading opens again Monday, June 22, with tanker movements and the Switzerland negotiations expected to guide the start. BP plans to pay its first-quarter dividend on Friday, June 26—6.1844 pence per ordinary share to shareholders on record May 15.
