BP to use $6bn from Castrol sale to cut debt, with net debt already under its target range
After a two-year lock-up BP can sell the 35% of Castrol it keeps, but net debt stood at $13,870m on 30 September, below the $14-18 billion range it set for end-2027.
BP expects the Castrol sale to complete imminently, with proceeds net of cash disposed put at $6bn. It says it will use $6bn of after-tax proceeds to reduce its financial obligations further. Net debt was already $13,870m at 30 September, below the $14-18 billion range BP set for the end of 2027.
BP agreed in December 2025 to sell 65% of Castrol to Stonepeak at an enterprise value of $10.1bn, and said then that all proceeds would go to cutting net debt. The sale is part of a $20bn disposal programme, and about $6bn of BP's raised 2026 disposal guidance of $8-9 billion rests on it. BP has also cut its 2026 capital spending guidance to $13.5-14.0 billion.
BP keeps the other 35% of Castrol and, after the two-year lock-up, can sell it. The business is not a rising earner for now, as BP expects third-quarter earnings in its customers division to fall on weaker midstream and Castrol results.
Other sales are moving in parallel. ConocoPhillips has agreed to take 42% of BP Energy Company of Kirkuk Limited, with closing expected by the end of 2026, and BP is selling most of its minority stakes in energy technologies, aiming to finish by the second quarter of 2027.
© Raydn · raydn.us
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