LONDON, March 28, 2026, 19:07 GMT
BP’s London-listed shares closed at a 52-week high on Friday, ending at 584.10 pence as higher crude prices kept the stock in demand. The shares rose 0.17% on the day and touched a fresh one-year peak at the close. 1
That matters now because BP is heading into April with Meg O’Neill set to take over and the company still reshaping itself around higher-return oil and gas projects, cost cuts and debt reduction. Last week’s refinery sale showed that overhaul is still moving. 2
Oil is doing the immediate work. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 4.2% to settle at $112.57 a barrel on Friday and has jumped 53% since Feb. 27 as traders doubt a quick end to the Iran war. StoneX analyst Alex Hodes said investors were focused on the conflict’s “longevity rather than headlines”. 3
BP’s U.S.-traded ADR climbed 1.1% to $46.68, a fourth straight daily gain, though it lagged Exxon Mobil’s 3.36% rise and ENI’s 2.07% advance. In London, the broader FTSE 100 slipped 0.05%, while BP held near its peak. 4
Analysts are already bracing for a much fatter quarter across the sector. Leo Mariani, a senior research analyst at Roth Capital Partners, said the first quarter would be “phenomenal” for the majors, and Reuters reported that analysts covering Shell have raised net profit estimates for the quarter by an average of 15%. 5
BP still has work to do in its own numbers. It halted $750 million of quarterly buybacks — a repurchase of its own shares — after fourth-quarter results, said net debt had fallen to $22 billion from $26 billion, and kept a 2027 debt target of $14 billion to $18 billion. Finance chief Kate Thomson said hitting that goal would not automatically restart the programme. 2
The company has kept trimming. BP said on March 19 it would sell its Gelsenkirchen refinery to Klesch, lift its 2027 cost-reduction target to $6.5 billion-$7.5 billion, and take divestments past $11 billion toward a $20 billion goal by 2027. 6
On the operating side, BP is leaning harder into conventional supply. Gordon Birrell, the company’s production and operations head, told Reuters this week that BP was “very disciplined” about which projects it advances after 12 discoveries in 2025, including Brazil’s Bumerangue field and finds in Egypt, the U.S. Gulf, Namibia and Angola. 7
But the rally carries obvious risk. Barclays said its base case is for traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway that carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas — to normalize by early April, a scenario it said would be consistent with Brent averaging $85 a barrel in 2026. BP also faces an April 1 deadline from climate group Follow This and allied investors to add a shareholder resolution before its April 23 annual general meeting or risk court action; BP has said, after taking legal advice, that the proposal is not valid. 8
