BP CEO hails exploration discovery boon after surprise profit beat
Trowbridge in Somerset, England, on March 15, 2025.
Anna Barclay | Getty Images News | Getty Images
BP CEO Murray Auchincloss on Tuesday leaned into the growth potential of the company’s recent oil and gas discoveries, as the struggling energy major contends with takeover questions and a major turnaround plan.
“Inside the upstream, we’ve had tremendous performance, along with record operating efficiency [and] along with starting up five new major projects,” BP’s Auchincloss told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe“, just after the release of the company’s second-quarter results.
He added that he was “very optimistic” about the company’s latest exploration discovery in the Bumerangue block in Brazil’s Santos Basin, just over 400 kilometers (248.5 miles) from Rio de Janeiro. BP is currently carrying out tests to further analyze the block’s potential.
The Bumerangue discovery, announced Monday, is the firm’s 10th since the start of the year and reflects a potentially significant boost as BP continues to double down on hydrocarbons.
After underperforming its peers in recent years, the firm has shifted gears by way of a fundamental strategic reset that will see BP prioritize fossil fuels and slash renewable spending.
Earlier on Tuesday, the energy major reported underlying replacement cost profit, used as a proxy for net profit, of $2.35 billion for the three months through June — comfortably beating analyst expectations of $1.81 billion, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus.
Ramping up investor returns, the company also said its quarterly dividend will increase to 8.32 cents from 8 cents and that it will maintain the pace of its share buyback program at $750 million for the second quarter.
Shares of the company were last seen trading 1.6% higher during morning deals.
Takeover speculation
The downturn of recent years has turned BP into the subject of intense takeover speculation, with some questioning a potential future merger with domestic rival Shell. For its part, Shell in late June said that it had “no intention” of making an offer.
UAE oil giant ADNOC, as well as U.S. oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron, are among some of the names that have also been touted as possible suitors.
Asked whether the company had been approached by any potential merger partners amid ongoing takeover speculation, Auchincloss said BP is focused on growth.
“That’s what is going to drive the share price up for shareholders,” he added.
CEO of BP Murray Auchincloss speaks during the CERAWeek oil summit in Houston, Texas, on March 19, 2024.
Mark Felix | AFP | Getty Images
Maurizio Carulli, global energy analyst at Quilter Cheviot, said BP’s earnings were the company’s first positive quarterly results “in a very long time,” noting that “what is perhaps most encouraging” was the firm’s outperformance came despite a period of lower oil prices.
“The management team has clearly started delivering on the strategy reset announced a few months ago. There has been huge speculation of late on the fate of BP and whether or not a rival will look to take them out with a merger,” Carulli said.
“If positive results like this continue to be delivered, that speculation may just end up being a blip in BP’s long and storied history,” he added.
Asset review
BP, which is under intense pressure to improve profitability from the likes of activist investor Elliott, noted that it would initiate a further cost review of its assets — mere weeks before Albert Manifold joins BP’s board from Sept. 1 and as chair from Oct. 1.
Asked for further details of this strategic review, Auchincloss told CNBC: “If you think back to 2020, we reduced our costs by 25%, and in 2024 we announced another program to reduce our costs by another 20%. That’s the $4-5 billion that I referenced earlier.”
“If we can achieve that, that will take us to around top quartile in the sector, but I don’t think that is enough,” Auchincloss said.
BP’s net debt came in at $26.04 billion at the end of the second quarter, down from nearly $27 billion compared to the first three months of the year.
“We need to keep driving safely to be the very best in the sector we can be. And that’s why we’re focused on another review to try to drive us toward best in class inside the sector,” Auchincloss added.
The US solar industry just delivered another huge quarter, installing 11.7 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity in Q3 2025. That makes it the third-largest quarter on record and pushes total solar additions this year past 30 GW – despite the Trump administration’s efforts to kneecap clean energy.
According to the new “US Solar Market Insight Q4 2025” report from Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie, 85% of all new power added to the grid during the first nine months of the Trump administration came from solar and storage. And here’s the twist: Most of that growth – 73% – happened in red states.
Eight of the top 10 states for new installations fall into that category, including Texas, Indiana, Florida, Arizona, Ohio, Utah, Kentucky, and Arkansas. Utah jumped into the top 10 this quarter thanks to two big utility-scale projects totaling more than 1 GW.
But the report also flags major uncertainty ahead. Federal actions, including a July memo from the Department of the Interior (DOI), have slowed or stalled the approvals pipeline for utility-scale solar and storage. Without clarity on permitting timelines, Wood Mackenzie’s long-term utility-scale forecast through 2030 remains basically unchanged from last quarter.
“This record-setting quarter for solar deployment shows that the market is continuing to turn to solar to meet rising demand,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA’s president and CEO. She added that strong growth in red states underscores how decisively the market is shifting toward clean energy. “But unless this administration reverses course, the future of clean, affordable, and reliable solar and storage will be frozen by uncertainty, and Americans will continue to see their energy bills go up.”
Two new solar module factories opened this year in Louisiana and South Carolina, adding a combined 4.7 GW of capacity. That brings the total new US module manufacturing capacity added in 2025 to 17.7 GW. With a new wafer facility coming online in Michigan in Q3, the US can now produce every major component of the solar module supply chain.
“We expect 250 GW of solar to be installed from 2025 to 2030,” said Michelle Davis, head of solar research at Wood Mackenzie and lead author of the report. “But the US solar industry has more potential. With rising power demand across the country, solar could do even more if current constraints were eased.”
SEIA also noted that, following an analysis of EIA data, it found that more than 73 GW of solar projects across the US are stuck in permitting limbo and at risk of politically motivated delays or cancellations.
Read more: EIA: Solar + storage soar as fossil fuels stall through September 2025
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The spiritual successor to the beloved Chevy Geo Tracker, production of the new-for-2026 electric Spark EUV has officially begun in Brazil with more than 200 miles of range.
That’s right, kids. To know the Chevy Tracker is to love the Chevy Tracker. The tiny, top-heavy Suzuki-based SUV combined bold colors, fun styling, (relatively) good fuel economy, and real off-road chops (especially in ZR2 trim) with an affordable price tag to make the Tracker an early favorite among the serious rock-crawling crowds.
Like, really
While it’s still too early to tell whether or not the all-new Chevy Spark EUV will come even close to that little proto-SUV, it seems we won’t have to wait much longer to find out – GM Authority reports that production of the 2026 Chevy Spark EUV has officially begun at Comexport’s Planta Automotiva do Ceará (PACE) plant, in the state of Ceará, Brazil.
GM Brazil invested the equivalent of $73 million to get the PACE factory ready to assemble GM’s modern, zero-emissions Chevy crossover for the South American and Middle Eastern markets – an investment big enough to earn a visit from Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was on-hand for the December 3rd kickoff event.
“It’s not a car factory,” said Comexport Vice President and PACE shareholder, Rodrigo Teixeir. “(The) goal is to develop technology there, not simply assemble a vehicle.”
Production of the new Spark EUV began last week, with production of the equally new Chevy Captiva EV set to begin as early as Q1 of 2026.
2026 Chevy Spark EUV
The Made in Brazil Chevrolet Spark EUV is heavily based on the Chinese Baojun, and is powered by that vehicle’s single 75 kW (101 hp), 180 Nm (130 lb-ft) motor driving the front wheels. Power comes from the Baojun’s 42 kWh LFP battery that, with regenerative braking, is good for up to 360 km (220 miles) on the NEDC driving cycle.
Weirdly, the new Spark is also equipped with a 10.1″ infotainment screen and 8.8″ digital instrument cluster (above) that supports both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto standard – technology that GM claims lead to “unsafe” driver behaviors in North America.
Let us know what you think of the little electric SUV, and whether or not you think it would be a hit in the US (it would) in the comments.
SOURCE: GM Authority; images by GM, Harry Situations.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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