Responding to punitive tax rates, BP says bye to the North Sea

Last week, BP, formerly known as British Petroleum, announced plans to sell its oil and natural gas business in the North Sea. The news was another sign that BP, which once rivaled oil and gas giants ExxonMobil and Chevron, can no longer be considered a globally significant energy company.

Today, BP has a stock market capitalization of around $114 billion, while Exxon Mobil is valued at about $600 billion and Chevron at nearly $400 billion. Over the past 30 years, BP’s share price has remained largely stagnant, while the two American energy giants have each appreciated more than fourfold since the mid-1990s. This begs a question: why is BP exiting its home waters in the North Sea, where it has operated since 1964?