Gordon Birrell on portfolio optimization
From BP Q2 2025 Earnings Call · · Fyfull
“We've dropped three rigs across the portfolio that are not competitive inside our capital frame. We have decided to shut down a program in Australia on green hydrogen. We've decided to shut down some programs in the US on blue hydrogen and CCS. So we just constantly challenge ourselves to drive to the highest quality inside the portfolio.”
On , Gordon Birrell, Executive Vice President of Production & Operations at British Petroleum, spoke about portfolio optimization during BP Q2 2025 Earnings Call on Fyfull.
About Gordon Birrell
Gordon Birrell, BP’s executive vice president of production and operations, has outlined a strategy of growing the company’s upstream oil and gas business while simultaneously reducing emissions. In a March 2025 capital markets update, he stated that the company’s strategy had been “fundamentally reset” to focus on “growing long-term shareholder value.” Birrell said BP aims to increase its oil and gas production to between 2.3 and 2.5 million barrels per day by 2030 while cutting emissions by 40% over the same period, describing the balance as “tricky” but something the company knows how to achieve. At the Baku Energy Week in June 2025, Birrell announced four new investments in Azerbaijan, including a compression and electrification platform, a block development, exploration in the Adua area, and the Shafagasaman gas field with Turkish Petroleum as a partner. He also noted a 240-megawatt solar plant being built in Jabrayil. Birrell described the world as being in an “era of energy addition” where demand is growing for all types of energy, and said BP has “way more opportunities around the world than we can fund,” allowing it to select the best projects. In Angola, he highlighted the Azul Energy joint venture’s production of over 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and its ambition to reach 250,000 barrels per day, as well as community initiatives including schools, health training, and landmine clearance.