January 14, 2026 [Reuters]- Oil major BP expects to book $4 billion to $5 billion in fourth-quarter impairments, mainly tied to its energy transition businesses, as it reroutes spending to oil and gas to boost returns under new leadership including Chair Albert Manifold.

The British company said in a trading statement on Wednesday ahead of its results on February 10 that the impairments are excluded from underlying replacement cost profit, its version of net income. A spokesperson declined to say which projects were affected.

New CEO Meg O’Neill will replace interim chief Carol Howle in April after Murray Auchincloss’s abrupt exit last month.

LOWER OIL PRICES, TRADING TO WEIGH ON EARNINGS

BP warned that weaker oil trading and falling prices will weigh on fourth-quarter earnings.

It expects lower oil prices to reduce quarterly earnings by $200 million to $400 million while weaker gas prices could trim another $100 million to $300 million. European benchmark gas prices fell 9% in the period, and Brent crude < averaged $63.73 a barrel, down from $69.13 in the third quarter, as oversupply fears hit markets.

BP shares were down 1.1% by 0841 GMT versus a 0.4% dip in a broader index of European energy companies.

NET DEBT FALLING DUE TO DIVESTMENTS

BP expects net debt to have dropped to $22 billion–$23 billion by the end of 2025 from $26.1 billion in the third quarter, helped by divestments of about $5.3 billion, above earlier guidance. The figure excludes $6 billion from selling a majority stake in its Castrol lubricants unit. BP aims to cut debt to $14 billion–$18 billion by 2027.

Refining margins slipped to $15.20 a barrel from $15.80 in the previous quarter. BP’s 440,000-barrel-per-day Whiting refinery in the U.S. suffered outages after an October fire, adding to earlier disruptions from flooding and a major 2024 outage.

BP also raised its expected tax rate for 2025 to 42% from 40%.