BP WARNS OF UP TO £3.4BN IMPAIRMENT ON GREEN ENERGY UNIT

BP has told investors it expects to record a post-tax impairment charge of between £2.26billion and £3.4billion in its third-quarter results, according to a company update. The FTSE 100 group said the charge is "primarily attributable to transition businesses in the gas & low carbon energy segment". One report put the range at up to $4.5billion (£3.4billion), while another gave a top figure of £3.4billion, reflecting different currency conversions of the same underlying estimate. The write-down follows BP's acknowledgement last year that its move into clean energy had been "misplaced", and comes as the company redirects spending from lower-carbon ventures towards its oil and gas operations. It is the latest in a series of impairments, after BP flagged charges of between £3.02billion and £3.77billion in January and between $4billion and $5billion in the final quarter of 2025.

BP has been restructuring its transition business, including the sale in July 2026 of the majority of its clean-energy and transition-focused venture capital portfolio to growth investor Verdane. The company has also faced pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, which built a stake of more than five per cent and has pushed BP to cut costs, reduce renewable investment and increase fossil fuel spending. BP said it expects net debt to fall to between $13.5billion and $14.5billion by the end of September, down from $22billion at the end of June. The company also forecast a significantly higher gas marketing and trading result for the third quarter compared with the previous one, with stronger refining margins expected to boost earnings by between $1.9billion and $2.1billion.

BP chief executive Meg O'Neill is due to give a strategy update in New York in December, her first since taking on the role, according to the company. The update follows a strategic overhaul outlined under former boss Murray Auchincloss in February 2025. BP previously set a target of reducing its debt pile to between $14billion and $18billion by the end of 2027. Analyst Alex Pugh of Freetrade said the expected write-downs show "the green dream still isn't fully paid for". BP's full third-quarter results are due at the end of the month.