BP (British Petroleum) earned nearly $1.06 billion from selling part of its stake in Aker BP, a Norwegian oil and gas producer. This sale included 31.6 million shares, which constitutes about 5 percent of the total issued share capital of Aker BP.
Details of the Share Sale
BP sold the shares at a price of 311 Norwegian kroner (NOK) per share, which reflects a discount of approximately 12 percent compared to the closing price of Aker BP shares on Wednesday (354 kroner). Following this transaction, BP's ownership in Aker BP decreased from 15.9 percent to about 10.9 percent, and the company still holds 68.7 million shares of this oil and gas producer. BP has agreed not to sell its remaining shares for the next 90 days, except in ordinary circumstances.
Purpose of the Sale and Financial Forecasts
BP has stated that the revenue from this transaction will be used to strengthen the financial position of the company. This sale has also prompted BP to raise its forecasts for future sales and other revenues for 2026 to about $9 billion, which is $1 billion more than the previous forecast of $8 billion.
BP's CEO, Meg O'Neill, referred to Aker BP's performance and favorable market conditions, stating that these factors have created an opportunity to realize part of the investment value.
Aker BP was established in 2016 by combining BP's upstream business in Norway and Det norske oljeselskap. Since then, the company has become one of the largest independent oil and gas producers in Norway, with a broad portfolio of producing and development assets along the Norwegian coast.
Aker BP reported a production of 374,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the third quarter of this year, and the major Yggdrasil and Valhall PWP-Fenris projects are on track to begin production in mid-2027.
