LONDON, March 17, 2026, 14:06 GMT
BP shares climbed over 1% in London on Tuesday. Its U.S.-traded stock added almost $1 to reach $43.90 at 13:51 UTC, after new Iranian strikes on the United Arab Emirates sent Brent crude surging past $100 a barrel. That pop pulled BP squarely into the broader rally in European energy names.
BP’s situation has changed: after halting its $750 million quarterly buyback last month, the company is channeling cash toward trimming debt and ramping up its oil and gas focus. Shell and Exxon, by contrast, didn’t break stride on buybacks, which leaves BP more exposed when oil prices slip—yet gives the company extra room to run when crude rallies.
Brent crude climbed 1.7%, reaching $101.94 as of 1315 GMT, with traders digesting fresh reports of damage at Fujairah and ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz—an artery for roughly a fifth of global oil and LNG flows. “The risks remain stark,” IG’s Tony Sycamore cautioned. OANDA’s Kelvin Wong, meanwhile, flagged WTI’s medium-term resistance out at $124 a barrel, citing the latest charts. Reuters
BP tacked on over 1% Monday, shrugging off the pullback in oil, while Shell climbed more than 1% on Tuesday as the FTSE energy sector notched a record high. The moves point to traders betting the supply shock won’t fade as quickly as crude’s daily volatility.
New headlines emerged on the corporate front. BP announced Monday that Azule Energy, its joint venture in Angola, kicked off gas production at the Quiluma field—Angola’s inaugural non-associated gas project, tapping gas that comes with little crude. Early volumes should hit 150 million standard cubic feet per day, climbing to 330 million by late 2026.
The trade can reverse in a hurry. Brent dropped 2.8% on Monday as a few ships managed to clear Hormuz, and Washington signaled it would permit certain Iranian, Indian, and Chinese vessels through. The International Energy Agency also talked about additional emergency stock releases. Bank of America now sees Brent potentially sliding back to $70 if the reopening happens quickly.
BP stands to gain from higher oil prices, but there’s more to the story. According to Reuters calculations using the company’s latest annual report, BP pumped around 503,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day across the Middle East and Egypt in 2025—representing some 22% of its total output. For Shell, that figure was only about 11%. If the region faces a broader supply disruption, prices could climb, but BP’s own production might take a hit.
Markets are treading lightly, with traders eyeing upcoming rate calls from the Bank of England, Federal Reserve and European Central Bank. Odds for a BoE hike in November sit near 50%, and economists now see UK rate cuts pushed back to April or June. As for BP, its shares look pinned to moves in crude and sector sentiment—oil’s up, so is the stock, and the balance-sheet angle is adding to that read.
