London, March 23, 2026, 23:05 GMT
BP shares ended Monday at 538.6 pence, falling 4.2% as oil took a sharp dive, dragging down the London-listed energy giant after a brutal stretch for crude. Brent crude, the international benchmark, finished at $99.94 a barrel—off 10.9%—after U.S. President Donald Trump signaled a five-day delay on planned strikes targeting Iranian power plants.
BP had been on the winning end before the selloff. Shares surged 4.9% Thursday, buoyed by war-fueled oil prices and news of BP’s Gelsenkirchen refinery sale in Germany. The company also announced expanded cost-cutting measures.
Monday brought a change of pace. Shell dropped 4.2%, dragging energy stocks to the bottom of the FTSE 100 as traders pulled back on the oil-risk premium added last week.
Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index, called Trump’s pause “exactly what the market needed” to reprice worst-case bets. Investors wasted no time starting to factor in a possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil shipping lane. Reuters
BP’s still got some specific tailwinds. Offloading Gelsenkirchen should chop about $1 billion in site-linked operating costs, boost BP’s recurring cost-cut target up to $6.5 billion–$7.5 billion for 2027, and push total asset sales past $11 billion. Barclays’ Lydia Rainforth put the liabilities trimmed from BP’s balance sheet between $1.3 billion and $1.7 billion. Meg O’Neill steps in as chief executive in April.
Operational risk remains live in the U.S. The United Steelworkers accused BP on Monday of unfair labor practices after nearly 800 workers were locked out at the Whiting refinery in Indiana, which processes 440,000 barrels a day and ranks as the Midwest’s largest. BP, for its part, doesn’t anticipate any impact on production from the dispute.
Still, traders are looking at both sides. Goldman Sachs bumped up its 2026 Brent estimate to $85 a barrel on Sunday, flagging the chance for March and April prices to average as high as $110. TotalEnergies boss Patrick Pouyanne called out the war’s threat to “damage other supply chains,” and Chevron’s Mike Wirth noted that unwinding the impact “will take time.” If Middle East infrastructure takes another hit, oil—and BP stock—could be headed higher once more. Reuters
BP’s U.S.-listed stock dropped 2.7% to $43.57 in late New York action, pointing to lingering pressure even after London’s session wrapped.
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