BP Divests Bay du Nord
BP Sells Significant Bay du Nord Stake to Equinor, Prioritizing Capital Discipline and High-Value Opportunities
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Key Points
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BP's executive vice president for Upstream, Gordon Birrell, emphasized strict capital discipline and that BP is prioritizing opportunities that create the most value for the company in the Bay du Nord transaction.
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Bay du Nord has advanced to front-end engineering and design (FEED), with ongoing work to strengthen capital efficiency, execution planning, and overall project robustness.
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Equinor intends to seek opportunities to bring in additional partners as part of the project's further development.
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Constructive engagement with provincial and federal governments has supported progress and will remain important as Bay du Nord advances toward FID.
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Initial resource potential for Bay du Nord is described as more than 400 million barrels of oil in its initial phase.
BP is selling its 37.2% non-operated stake in the Bay du Nord project to its partner Equinor, making Equinor the sole owner of one of Canada's largest offshore oil developments, according to Market Screener. The deal is part of BP's push to simplify its portfolio and focus cash on higher-value assets.
BP will keep full ownership of two separate exploration licenses offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. The company says the sale reflects strict capital discipline. Gordon Birrell, BP's executive vice president for Upstream, said BP is "prioritizing opportunities that create the most value" for the company, according to Market Screener.
Equinor Takes Full Control of Bay du Nord
With BP's exit, Equinor becomes the 100% owner of Bay du Nord's ten licenses in the Flemish Pass basin. The basin sits roughly 500 kilometers off the coast of Newfoundland. Equinor plans to look for new partners to bring into the project as development moves forward, according to Market Screener.
Bay du Nord holds more than 400 million barrels of oil in its initial phase. The project will use a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel — a large ship that extracts, stores, and processes oil at sea — connected to wells on the seabed. That setup is common in deep, remote offshore fields.
FID Targeted for 2027, First Oil Around 2031
Bay du Nord is currently in the front-end engineering and design phase, known as FEED. That means engineers are working out the detailed plans and costs before a final go-ahead. Equinor is targeting a final investment decision, or FID, in early 2027, according to TradingView.
If the project gets approved, first oil is expected around 2031. Total investment is estimated at about CAD 14 billion. Those figures depend on market conditions and regulatory clearances from both provincial and federal governments, according to Market Screener.
BP Sheds Non-Core Assets to Sharpen Strategy
BP has been selling off assets and cutting costs as part of a broader shift in its upstream strategy. Bay du Nord was a non-operated stake, meaning BP had no direct management role in the project. Offloading it frees up capital that BP says it can deploy elsewhere.
BP says it will work with Equinor and other stakeholders to support a smooth transition. The company is not walking away entirely — it still holds the two exploration licenses offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. Those assets keep BP with a foothold in the region while shedding the larger, capital-heavy commitment.
Government Relations Key as Project Advances
Both provincial and federal government support has been important to Bay du Nord's progress so far. Equinor will need continued regulatory approvals as it moves toward FID. The project has been described as one of Canada's most significant new offshore oil developments in years, according to Market Screener.
Ongoing work is focused on strengthening capital efficiency and execution planning to make the project more robust. Equinor's goal is to reach FID with a well-defined cost structure and a clear path to first oil by 2031.
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