Murray Auchincloss on Castrol
From BP p l c BP Q3 2025 Earnings Call · · Fyfull
“Castrol is nine quarters in a row of increase in earnings — it's a commercial process so I won't talk much about it other than to say there's strong interest, we are moving at pace and we'll update you in due course; any proceeds that come from the strategic review will be dedicated to the balance sheet.”
On , Murray Auchincloss, Chief Executive Officer & Director at British Petroleum, spoke about Castrol during BP p l c BP Q3 2025 Earnings Call on Fyfull.
About Murray Auchincloss
Murray Auchincloss, BP’s chief executive, has described 2025 as a strong year for the company, citing operational performance and strategic progress. Speaking on BP’s third-quarter results call in November, he reported underlying pre-tax earnings of $5.3 billion and $7.8 billion in operating cash flow, and said the company was three quarters into a 12-quarter plan aimed at growing adjusted free cash flow by 20% CAGR from 2025 to 2027. He noted that upstream production increased by around 3% quarter-on-quarter, with plant reliability at approximately 97%, and that refining availability was the best in 20 years for the current portfolio. Auchincloss also highlighted the startup of six major oil and gas projects in 2025, four of them ahead of schedule, and 12 exploration discoveries, including the Boomerang discovery in Brazil, which he described as BP’s largest discovery in 25 years. He stated that the company had announced $5 billion in divestments year to date and was making progress on a $20 billion divestment target, while keeping organic capex on track to be below $14 billion. In public appearances and interviews, Auchincloss has emphasized a shift in global energy priorities, saying that nations are seeking “as much energy as they can possibly get, as affordable as they can get, as local as they can get for their own security of supply,” while also wanting lower carbon energy. He has described the company’s strategy as focused on hydrocarbons and the energy transition, and expressed optimism about alignment between shareholders and the countries where BP operates. On the macro outlook, he said oil demand remains robust with 1% growth expected in 2025 and 2026, and that prices would be determined by OPEC+ decisions, sanctions, and Chinese storage behavior. Auchincloss also discussed the potential of AI and digital tools, noting partnerships with Palantir and Databricks to improve well planning and operational efficiency. Regarding the Castrol business, he confirmed a strategic review was underway, describing it as the least integrated of BP’s assets and stating that any proceeds would be dedicated to the balance sheet.