BP has come a long way since the Gulf of Mexico oil spill incident on Apr 20, 2010, which followed the explosion on the British energy giant’s Deepwater Horizon rig. The largest oil spill incident in America’s history had disrupted the integrated energy player’s financial performance. Notably, BP had taken a pre-tax charge of $32.2 billion related to the disaster, which resulted in the company’s record loss of more than $17 billion in the June quarter of 2010. BP also suspended dividend payments for three quarters, until the firm started paying dividends again in early 2011.

To combat its huge litigation expenses that stemmed from the disaster, the company embarked on a massive asset divestment program and relied significantly on debt capital. However, on a positive note, BP successfully settled all litigation with the relatively insignificant cash outlays remaining.

The oil spill incident no longer remains a threat to BP’s outlook. BP is steadfast in its commitment to allocating 80% of its surplus cash flow in 2024 toward share buybacks, contingent upon maintaining a robust investment-grade credit rating. In alignment with this strategy, BP disclosed an additional $1.75 billion share buyback program, scheduled to be finalized prior to reporting its first-quarter 2024 results.

BP is also on track to capitalize on the global economy's transition to lower carbon fuels. Apart from focusing strongly on oil production growth, the company has been investing in renewable energy business with a plan to ramp up capital spending for non-oil and gas business. In fact, BP has plans of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050.

BP commenced a new organizational model from 2020. Following its new strategy, the energy giant changed its reportable segments from the first quarter of 2021. Its reportable segments now are: Oil Production & Operations, Gas & Low Carbon Energy, and Customers & Products.

It entered a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Eni to combine their upstream portfolios into a joint venture in Angola. The new venture will be self-funded and is expected to generate significant synergies. Oil and gas production from both portfolios is expected to reach nearly 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.