BP PLCBP's North Sea assets are uncompetitive due to Labour's windfall tax, prompting sale.

BP chief executive Meg O'Neill declared the North Sea is not competitive, justifying the company's decision to sell its assets in the basin. She told CNBC that when looking at how it fits into BP's portfolio, it just doesn't compete for capital. The comments came as BP more than doubled its profits in the first half of the year, with underlying replacement cost profit surging 139 percent to 8.9 billion dollars. The company put its North Sea business up for sale last week, potentially ending six decades of production there, and cited Labour's windfall tax raid as part of its ongoing portfolio review. The Scottish government and First Minister John Swinney have called for the tax to be scrapped, while Donald Trump warned that Britain was a bankrupt country and urged the UK to reopen the North Sea.
BP PLCBP's North Sea assets are uncompetitive due to Labour's windfall tax, prompting sale.