The top finance boss at BP (LON: BP) said the firm is assessing the best oil and gas opportunities in its global portfolio for next year, but said the firm “won’t ramp up” without a secure supply chain.
Chief financial officer Murray Auchincloss said it is “really the supply chain that’s choking activity right now”.
He told investors that the firm is taking a look at capital expenditure for 2023, with plans to bring rigs into the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico and the Lower 48 in the US.
Asked about the ability of BP to add volumes to its portfolio, Auchincloss said: “We’re looking at bringing two rigs into the Gulf of Mexico, fixed and a workover rig, we’re looking at bringing another two to three rigs into the Lower 48, we’re looking at bringing another couple rigs into the North Sea.
“So we are looking around at the highest-quality opportunities across the business and as we work through our 2023 budgeting process we’ll come back and talk to you about what we’re doing with capital in 2023 in February.”
However as oil prices rise and work ramps up globally, he highlighted the main challenges towards ramping up.
“I suppose the key challenge these days is supply chain challenges; can you get rigs, can you get crews, can you get frack fleet ,can you get sand? So it’s really the supply chain that’s choking activity right now.
“We won’t ramp up if we don’t have a secure supply chain at reasonable prices.”
Mr Auchincloss was speaking to investors as BP revealed its Q3 results on Tuesday, with global net profits of $8.2bn, nearly triple the earnings of the same period last year.
BP’s results fanned more fuel to the windfall tax flame, with many commentators demanding further taxation on the UK North Sea oil and gas industry.
The firm said the UK accounts for around 15% of global profits – read more here.
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