London, March 9, 2026, 21:09 GMT.
BP climbed 2.2% in London on Monday after Brent crude briefly crossed $119 a barrel. Even so, shares are up 7.8% since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran erupted late last month—well behind crude’s more than 40% surge. That spread points to skepticism about a lasting supply hit; James West at Melius Research noted the market was anticipating a “swift end” to the Strait of Hormuz disruption. Reuters
This is a pressing issue for BP. Just last month, the company paused its $750 million quarterly share buyback and shifted those funds to pay down debt instead. Net debt was $22 billion at the close of the fourth quarter, and BP is aiming to bring that down to somewhere between $14 billion and $18 billion by 2027. A prolonged oil price rally would give the company a boost toward that goal.
Crude has been on a wild ride. Brent closed out the session at $98.96, coming down from an earlier spike to $119.50—a 29% surge that marked its highest level since 2022. The Strait of Hormuz, which handles about one-fifth of global oil and LNG shipments, remained all but locked down while some Gulf suppliers trimmed output.
The selloff isn’t just hitting energy stocks now. Global bonds took a beating, with traders abruptly shifting from bets on Bank of England rate cuts to seeing a real possibility of a hike before December. Rabobank’s Lyn Graham-Taylor called it “panic mode” among investors, as the oil shock’s inflation spike rattled the market. Reuters
BP is still dealing with fallout from last year’s strategy shift. The company slashed its planned yearly spending on renewables by over $5 billion, and upped annual oil and gas investment to $10 billion. RBC Capital Markets analyst Biraj Borkhataria called those moves the “right calls” for the long run, though he noted shareholder returns in the near term remain behind Shell and Exxon. Reuters
Changes at the top are coming. Chairman Albert Manifold says a “leaner board”—down to 10 directors from 13—should help BP move faster. Meg O’Neill steps in as the company’s first outside chief executive in over 100 years this April, following a 16% drop in 2025 profit to $7.5 billion. Reuters
The reset hasn’t quieted critics. ACCR, along with a group of UK and European pension funds, has lodged a resolution calling for BP to clarify how moving capital away from low-carbon ventures into oil and gas is supposed to boost returns. That puts fresh pressure on management, with shareholders set to weigh in at the annual meeting.
Still, any rally might not last long if policymakers succeed in tamping things down. U.S. officials are weighing a coordinated release of emergency oil reserves alongside G7 allies, though analysts and industry sources told Reuters this would probably only go so far unless tankers can resume passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
BP has its next key dates lined up: fourth-quarter dividends are set to go out on March 27, while first-quarter earnings drop April 28, according to the company’s financial calendar.
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