London, May 20, 2026, 13:14 BST
BP PLC’s top Australian gas asset came back into play Wednesday, as Woodside Energy said it may match Inpex’s bid to acquire PetroChina’s 10.67% stake in the Browse gas fields offshore Western Australia.
Woodside CEO Liz Westcott said, “We will absolutely assess pre-emption.” Pre-emption lets an existing partner match a stake sale before it is offered to outsiders. BP became the biggest Browse partner when it bought Shell’s stake in 2023, according to Reuters. Reuters
Browse is now at the center of BP’s latest investor plan: focus on core oil and gas, cut down on sprawl, keep a tighter grip on spending. Liquefied natural gas, or LNG, is one of the only growth spots BP shows as it works on cutting debt and dropping assets that earn less.
BP Developments Australia has a 44.33% stake in Browse, with Woodside at 30.6% and Japan Australia LNG, backed by Mitsui and Mitsubishi, holding 14.4%, according to project statements cited by Rigzone. The Browse joint venture is targeting production of 11.4 million tons per year of LNG, LPG, and domestic gas, along with 50,000 barrels per day of condensate, a light oil found with gas.
London markets traded inside the dateline window, as the London Stock Exchange kept to its regular Wednesday hours, open from 8:00 a.m. through 4:30 p.m. BST. The next planned market holiday is May 25. BP shares last changed hands at 570.70 pence, up from the previous 569.00 pence close, data from Investing.com show.
Market action was limited. The strategy signal was clear.
Woodside says Browse is the country’s largest undeveloped offshore gas resource. The company wants to send gas nearly 900 km by pipe to its North West Shelf setup in Karratha, with carbon capture — tech planned to capture CO2 emissions — built into the offshore plan. The project is still in concept definition, ahead of front-end engineering and design, which comes before any final investment decision.
Inpex moving in could shake up that option. MST Marquee analyst Saul Kavonic said the deal “could cause an existing Browse joint venture member to exercise their pre-emptive rights.” He also said Inpex may prefer to route Browse gas to its Ichthys LNG plant in Darwin. Inpex said the deal still needs regulatory and partner OKs. BP would not comment to Reuters. CNA
BP is also moving its trading operations toward LNG. Reuters said on May 15 that BP will cut its pipeline gas trading team, eliminate around 20 jobs, and shift the rest to LNG, as European gas trading moves away from Russian pipeline flows. BP would not comment.
BP CEO Meg O’Neill, who stepped in this April, is pushing to fix up the balance sheet. The company logged a first-quarter underlying replacement cost profit of $3.2 billion. That’s BP’s main earnings number, adjusted for inventory swings and one-offs. Net debt ended at $25.3 billion. BP also wants to cut hybrid bond capital by around $4.3 billion. “We’re strengthening the balance sheet and continuing to accelerate delivery,” O’Neill said. bp global
Commodities are pushing and pulling the market. Brent crude dropped roughly 3% Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump talked about ending the Iran war, but there may still be room for prices to climb, LSEG research analyst Emril Jamil said. Supply is not expected to snap back to pre-war levels soon.
Shell investors voted down a climate activist proposal on Tuesday, giving it about 13% backing. Reuters reported that the result was different from BP’s move last month, when it left a similar Follow This resolution off its AGM agenda. That decision ended up pressuring support for BP Chair Albert Manifold, which came in below usual levels.
BP’s risk comes if delays get framed as optionality. If Woodside tries to shut out Inpex, or if partners can’t agree on sending Browse gas to Karratha or Darwin, the project could be stuck ahead of engineering work. Costs, carbon-capture rules and approvals might keep changing during that time.
BP Chief Executive O’Neill plans internal changes designed to simplify the company. Reuters said this month that BP is set to reorganise into upstream and downstream units starting in June, a key move for O’Neill since she took the top job. Upstream refers to exploration and production, with downstream covering refining, fuels, retail and the other businesses.
BP investors are watching Browse as more than an Australian gas field. They see it as a test for turning a big, complicated asset into cash, output, or trading power—and whether BP can pick up the pace after years of slow progress.
