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  "path": "/money/bp-north-sea-holdings-operation",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-03T12:43:23.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Your home, your car, your diet: Net zero is coming for daily life - Matt Gibson",
    "Relentless drive to Net Zero is trampling British industry, chemicals plant boss tells GB News",
    "Britons recommended to 'cycle more and eat less meat' to hit Net Zero targets",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nOil giant BP is said to be in talks to sell its North Sea holdings.\n\nThe company held advanced talks with Ithaca Energy, with a potential deal worth £2 billion, the Financial Times has said.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe deal did not come off but it is understood BP is exploring further options, the newspaper reports.\n\nBoth BP and Ithaca declined to comment on the news.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nBP has been involved in the North Sea for more than 60 years and remains one of the largest operators.\n\nIt has interests in up to 25 fields, including the iconic Clair - the largest conventional oilfield on the UK Continental Shelf.\n\nBut, against harsh trading regimes from successive UK governments, North Sea output has fallen as a share of BP production.\n\nOne issue has been the energy profits levy, or windfall tax. Introduced by the Tories, it now means operators face a 78 per cent levy on their profits.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nChanceller Rachel Reeves is understood to want to end the tax and replace it with a more “stable” mechanism.\n\nBut sources have said the war in Iran and soaring prices meant the move was delayed.\n\nThe FT reported that talks between BP and Ithaca Energy reached an “advanced” stage.\n\nWhile the talks failed in recent weeks, BP is still ⁠exploring options and may pursue a deal with other competitors, it was claimed.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Your home, your car, your diet: Net zero is coming for daily life - Matt Gibson\n  * Relentless drive to Net Zero is trampling British industry, chemicals plant boss tells GB News\n  * Britons recommended to 'cycle more and eat less meat' to hit Net Zero targets\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nLast month, Meg O’Neill, BP’s chief executive, ordered a review of its offshore operations.\n\nThe same month, the company removed its chaiman, Albert Manifold, with immediate effect.\n\nIt cited “serious concerns raised to the board related to important governance standards, oversight and conduct”.\n\nIthaca Energy has North Sea interests including Cambo, Britain’s second largest untapped oil field.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nIt also has a stake in Rosebank, the largest. BP and Ithaca have a shared interest in the Vorlich field, east of Aberdeen.\n\nUnder Labour, new North Sea licences have been banned.\n\nWork at Rosebank and Jackdaw, a giant gas field, has been paused, pending legal challenges on climate grounds.\n\nEnergy Secretary Ed Miliband will have the final decision as to whether drilling can restart at either.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nAndy Burnham, who is standing for office in the Makerfield by-election and is expected to make a leadership bid if elected, said he was “open minded” about the North Sea.\n\nAsked by the New Statesman for his view on North Sea drilling he replied: “I’ve got something of an open mind, you know.\n\n“I don’t have a sort of fixed position.”\n\nThe Government says it is working on ensuring the basin has a “prosperous and sustainable future”.\n\nA spokesman said: “We’re giving the sector and its investors the long-term certainty to plan, invest and support jobs with plans to replace the Energy Profits Levy when it ends by 2030 or earlier, if its price floor is triggered.\n\n“We are also making sure the North Sea has a prosperous and sustainable future through record investment that helps deliver the next generation of skilled jobs, while growing the clean energy industries of the future.”\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "BP 'in talks to sell its North Sea holdings' after more than 60 years operating"
}