BP Strikes Deal To Sell 65% Stake In Castrol For $6 Billion Amid Debt Reduction Efforts

BP’s majority stake sale of its Castrol business to Stonepeak is expected to close by the end of 2026.

• The deal comes amid BP’s debt reduction plans and a target to reduce its net debt to between $14 billion and $18 billion by 2027. 
• BP and Stonepeak will create a joint venture under the deal, with the oil giant maintaining a 35% stake and a two-year lock-in period. 
• With this deal announcement, the oil giant has completed over half of its $20 billion divestment programme.

BP has entered into a deal to sell a 65% stake in its Castrol business to U.S. alternative investment firm Stonepeak for $6 billion, the company said on Wednesday.

The sale comes amid its debt reduction plans announced earlier this year. The deal values the Castrol business at $10.1 billion and is expected to close by the end of 2026, the company said.

Debt Downsizing

In February 2025, BP set a target to reduce its net debt to between $14 billion and $18 billion by 2027. The company also said that it would raise $20 billion through divestments by the end of 2027. Castrol’s sale proceeds would go toward meeting this debt target, the company said. As of the third quarter (Q3) of 2025, BP's net debt was $26.1 billion.

Under the terms of the sale, BP and Stonepeak will create a joint venture where the oil giant will maintain a 35% stake, which it can sell after a two-year lock-in period. The company will also use $800 million to prepay future dividends on the retained Castrol stake.

“The transaction allows us to realise value for our shareholders, generating significant proceeds while continuing to benefit from Castrol’s strong growth momentum. And with this, we have now completed or announced over half of our targeted $20bn divestment programme, with proceeds to significantly strengthen BP’s balance sheet,” said Carol Howle, Interim CEO at BP.  

“The sale marks an important milestone in the ongoing delivery of our reset strategy. We are reducing complexity, focusing the downstream on our leading integrated businesses, and accelerating delivery of our plan,” she added.

Strategy Reboot

BP’s majority stake sale in Castrol comes on the heels of a strategic and leadership reset. The company’s former CEO, Murray Auchincloss, stepped down abruptly earlier this month after a two-year tenure. BP has named Meg O’Neill as the successor, expected to take the helm on  April 1, 2026.

O’Neill, currently the CEO of Australia's Woodside Energy, will become the first female CEO of a major oil company. She will also take over as BP’s fourth chief executive in only six years as the company navigates its pullback from renewable energy amid declining profit and stiff competition from other oil majors.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around BP stock remained in the ‘bullish’ territory over the past day, and message volume stayed at ‘high’ levels at the time of writing.

Shares of BP have risen by more than 21% over the past year.

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