BP has offloaded around a third of its stake in Norwegian oil and gas company Aker BP marking a major cash injection as it seeks to bring down its debt pile.

The FTSE 100 energy giant told markets on Thursday it had sold a five per cent stake in Aker for around NOK9.83bn (£785m).

BP still owns around 68.7m of the remaining shares, leaving it with a holding just shy of 11 per cent. The sale was completed at a price of 311 crowns, marking a 12 per cent discount to Aker’s closing price on the Oslo bourse on Wednesday.

“In recent months, [Aker BP] has further increased its value through a combination of its strong performance and the favourable macro environment,” BP boss Meg O’Neil said.

“We believe now is the right time for us to realize part of this value to further strengthen BP’s balance sheet, our first priority as we build a simpler, stronger, more valuable BP.”

The firm raised its full-year asset sale target by $1bn to roughly $9bn.

BP to release new strategy

Last month, the firm reported earnings of $8.5bn (£6.3bn) for the third quarter, a near-quadrupling compared to the same period last year. It follows the surge in oil prices from the US-Iran war, which have left energy giants reaping mammoth profit windfalls.

BP has halved its debt over the past year to $13.9bn. It is set to be cut by a further $6bn following proceeds collected from the sale of lubricants business Castrol.

In December, BP is expected to present its new long-term strategy after O’Neil took the reins this year, replacing Murray Auchincloss who had just two years in the post.

In September, the group also appointed Ian Tyler as its new chair who had been serving as interim chair since 26 May. Tyler joined BP as a non-executive director in April 2025.

He replaced Albert Manifold, who was stripped of his roles as chair and director of the oil major in May after taking over in July 2025.

The ousting was reported to have been due to his “volcanic” temper towards colleagues. Manifold has disputed the characterisation of his conduct.