LONDON, Jan 18, 2026, 08:47 GMT — Market closed
- On Friday, BP shares ended the day 0.54% higher, closing at 440.25 pence
- JERA Nex BP, the offshore wind venture, stepped in to buy EnBW’s stake in the Mona project and put Morgan on hold
- BP announced another round of share buybacks, keeping investors focused on cash returns ahead of earnings season
BP’s shares on the London market are in the spotlight this week following its offshore wind joint venture, JERA Nex BP, seeking to acquire German utility EnBW’s stake in a UK project. The stock closed Friday at 440.25 pence, rising 2.35 pence, or 0.54%, after fluctuating between 433.60 and 443.25 pence.
JERA Nex BP, a joint venture between BP and Japan’s JERA, announced it will acquire EnBW’s stake in the Mona offshore wind project following a lease agreement with the Crown Estate. The partners said the project could generate up to 1.5 gigawatts. However, they confirmed they won’t move forward with the Morgan project lease under current market conditions. No financial terms were revealed.
This is crucial now as offshore wind has become a capital drain for some in the sector, with costs and financing remaining tricky and power prices weaker than developers initially expected. For BP investors, each shift in renewable strategy hits the core debate: how much investment stays in “transition” projects versus flowing back to oil, gas, and payouts to shareholders.
BP disclosed in a regulatory filing late Friday that it purchased 3,038,773 shares under its buyback program announced on Nov. 4, 2025. The shares were bought at a volume-weighted average price of roughly 439.7 pence on the London Stock Exchange. The company plans to place these shares into treasury, increasing the treasury holdings to 742,851,215.
Oil prices continue to steer the entire sector. Brent closed at $64.13 a barrel on Friday, up 0.58%, with U.S. crude settling at $59.44. Traders pointed to position-covering ahead of the U.S. holiday weekend as a key driver. “Buying today seems to be people not wanting to be caught short over the long weekend,” said Price Futures Group senior analyst Phil Flynn. Phillip Nova analyst Priyanka Sachdeva described Brent as “range-bound,” hovering mostly between $57 and $67 unless demand picks up or supply tightens. Reuters
Broker talk is still buzzing. After BP’s Q4 update this week, Berenberg cut their price target to 520 pence from 525 pence, according to a Sharecast report featured by Hargreaves Lansdown.
U.S. equity markets are closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which can lead to lighter trading in BP’s U.S.-listed ADRs and other energy stocks early this week.
On Jan. 14, BP announced it expects $4 billion to $5 billion in impairments for the fourth quarter, largely linked to its low-carbon energy ventures. The company also pointed to weaker oil trading and falling prices as headwinds for earnings. These impairments won’t affect BP’s “underlying replacement cost profit,” its adjusted net income metric. RBC analyst Biraj Borkhataria described the move as “a first step” in management’s effort to “clear the decks.” Reuters
There’s a sharp risk on the downside. Should oil prices slide back from last week’s rally—whether due to increased supply or reduced geopolitical tensions—BP’s near-term cash flow and buyback momentum could stall fast. Investors won’t tolerate another wave of write-downs or setbacks in expensive wind projects.
