BP scraps £550m shareholder payout after oil price plunge

Matthew Field

Tue, February 10, 2026 at 6:05 PM GMT+9 3 min read

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BP had expected the oil price to be around $76 a barrel for this year but it currently trades at around $69 - Andy BUCHANAN / POOL / AFP

BP has pledged to “do better” after cancelling a $750m (£549m) shareholder payout amid a decline in the oil price and sudden exit of its chief executive.

The FTSE 100 giant, which helps fund the pensions of millions of Britons through dividends, scrapped its share buyback programme on Tuesday after battening down the hatches following a wave turbulence at the group.

It will seek to cut billions more in costs in 2026 alongside scrapping the payout amid a plunge in the oil price.

BP had expected the oil price to be around $76 a barrel for this year but it currently trades at around $69, adding pressure to the company’s finances.

The oil major has suffered recent turmoil after the abrupt departure of Murray Auchincloss, its former chief executive, after less than two years in post.

Albert Manifold, BP’s chairman who was instrumental in Mr Auchincloss’s exit, has hired Woodside Energy chief Meg O’Neill as his replacement.

Meg O’Neill will be the first female chief executive in BP’s history - SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

On Tuesday, Carol Howle, BP’s interim chief executive, attempted to placate investors by saying the company would seek to improve its performance.

“We are in action and we can and will do better for our shareholders,” she said.

BP said it had sunk to a $3.4bn loss in the three months ending in December, compared to a $1.2bn profit in the third quarter of 2025, amid weaker crude oil prices.

Its underlying replacement costs profit – its preferred measure of profitability – fell from $8.9bn to $7.5bn for the year. Its replacement costs profit fell 16pc over the quarter, in line with analysts forecasts.

BP’s latest $750m buyback programme was announced in November 2025, but the oil giant had faced pressure from falling oil prices and under the weight of its $22bn debt pile.

The latest fall in profitability included an impairment charge of $4bn on its “low carbon energy” division, part of a costly write-down of BP’s net zero bets disclosed in January.

“With a continued emphasis on capital discipline and returns, we are reducing capital expenditure for 2026 to the lower end of the guidance range, while continuing to drive down our cost base,” Ms Howle said.

BP last year tore up a strategy, first introduced by former boss Bernard Looney in 2020, to focus on renewables and the green energy transition after a backlash from shareholders. This included scrapping a multi-billion pound hydrogen plant on Teesside.

The oil giant had previously intended to cut its oil output by 40pc and reach net zero emissions by 2050.

The arrival in April of Ms O’Neill, a former executive at US oil major ExxonMobil, is expected to trigger renewed focus on BP’s fossil fuels division.

La historia continúa  

BP is already increasing its oil and gas investment and exploration. It is also in the process of selling $20bn of assets.

Derren Nathan, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdowne, said the decision to scrap BP’s share buyback was part of an attempt to “clear the decks” ahead of the arrival of Ms O’Neill as it pursues a “leaner, meaner” strategy.

Shares in BP fell 3.5pc in early trading.

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