Energy Giant BP Shuts Down Its Venture Arm: A Strategic Shift

22:52 / 16.07.2026·33·Technology

British oil and gas giant BP has decided to close its corporate venture arm, which has a twenty-year history. The company announced it would sell off most of its portfolio assets, signaling a retreat by a major energy market player from renewable energy and climate technologies. This was reported by Techcrunch.com reporting that.

According to Axios and other influential publications, BP is selling more than 10 companies from its venture portfolio to the Scandinavian private equity firm Verdane. This move is a logical continuation of the company's strategy, announced earlier this year, to abandon clean energy projects and refocus on traditional fossil fuel sources.

Abandoning Green Technologies

The BP Ventures division was established in 2007 and has invested in many areas related to the energy transition over the past period. Among them were the following areas:

Green hydrogen technologies;
Electric vehicles (e-mobility);
Autonomous transport;
Geothermal energy and renewables.

In an official statement, the company said it would retain only a very small number of investments that could create value for its core business areas. However, exactly which startups will remain within BP has not been disclosed. The fate of the division's employees also remains unknown, with experts predicting mass layoffs.

Financial Results and the Future

Analysts believe that BP Ventures' operations did not yield the expected financial results. According to reports, the total value of the portfolio is approximately $1.2 billion, which is equal to the total amount of investments made over nearly 20 years. In other words, the division did not generate significant profits in the long term.

The deal is expected to be fully completed by the second quarter of 2027. This event once again highlighted the gap between the promises of major oil companies regarding the transition to a "green economy" and their real capabilities in the global energy market. For countries like Uzbekistan, where energy reforms are underway, such a strategic retreat by major corporations indicates a shift in market conditions.

BP is now expected to focus primarily on high-profit oil and gas extraction projects. This is certain to be met with criticism from the international community and environmental organizations fighting climate change.