London, Feb 27, 2026, 08:09 GMT — Regular session
- BP shares dip roughly 0.5% at the open in London trading
- Oil hovered close to $71 a barrel, with U.S.-Iran negotiations stretching out and attention shifting to the upcoming OPEC+ weekend decision.
- BPX is aiming for an 8% bump in shale production this year, Bloomberg reports.
BP slipped 0.5% to 472.1 pence early Friday in London, coming off a previous close at 474.3 pence. Shares have moved between 467.1 and 472.25 pence so far. BP’s next earnings are slated for April 28, Investing.com shows.
Oil ticked higher, though nerves were evident. Brent crude added 0.5% to reach $71.11 per barrel by 0600 GMT, but was still on track for a weekly loss as the U.S. and Iran prolonged nuclear negotiations and the market eyed the upcoming OPEC+ meeting. “Traders are in wait-and-see mode heading into the weekend,” said June Goh, senior analyst at Sparta Commodities. Analysts estimated the geopolitical “risk premium”—extra costs built in for possible supply shocks—at $8 to $10 a barrel. Reuters
Caution lingered across markets. On Friday, Asian equities swung between gains and losses, while investors pushed into the yen and U.S. Treasuries, eyeing both tech sector jitters and a new wave of geopolitical news. “AI and geopolitics remained front and centre,” Westpac senior economist Mantas Vanagas wrote in a note. Reuters
BP’s BPX Energy arm is aiming for an 8% boost in shale production this year, moving to ramp up drilling across its U.S. acreage, Bloomberg reported Thursday. CEO Kyle Koontz put current shale output at around 500,000 barrels a day — about 20% of BP’s total global output, using the industry’s standard measurement.
BP’s shale ramp complicates the equation for investors linking cash flow to payouts. Extra barrels help if prices cooperate. But as costs rise, or oil sours, shale’s volatility can hit producers hard.
London’s FTSE 100 pushed to a fresh high on Thursday, closing at 10,846.70. Rolls-Royce and London Stock Exchange Group led the move. Traders are starting to price in a potential Bank of England rate cut as early as March.
BP carved its own path following its recent financial shake-up. On Feb. 10, the company announced it’s halting its $750 million quarterly share buybacks, shifting that money toward debt reduction instead. This move comes after BP booked roughly $4 billion in charges related to renewables and biogas. Meg O’Neill is set to become CEO in April, BP added.
Crude’s recent action hasn’t been smooth. Brent ended Thursday off by 10 cents, closing at $70.75 a barrel. Intraday, prices lurched in response to headlines from U.S.-Iran talks. “The crude selloff is simply the market removing a geopolitical risk premium,” said Shohruh Zukhritdinov, an oil trader based in Dubai. Reuters
BP faces the same threat dogging the entire sector—oil prices shifting more quickly than companies can react. If producers ramp up output beyond forecasts or diplomatic efforts suddenly gain traction, crude could tumble, pulling energy stocks down along with it.
Diplomacy hasn’t delivered clarity yet. U.S.-Iran negotiations wrapped up Thursday with no agreement, but Oman reported headway, and technical teams are due in Vienna next week. Markets have been factoring in the risk of U.S. strikes—a breakthrough could shift that calculus for oil.
Sunday’s shaping up to be pivotal. On March 1, eight OPEC+ producers are scheduled to meet, with three sources indicating the group could weigh boosting output by 137,000 barrels a day for April. That would follow a first-quarter pause.
