BP to cut pipeline gas trading team as LNG focus grows, sources say

LONDON, ​May ⁠15 (Reuters) - BP plans to dismantle its ​pipeline gas trading team, as the oil major focuses on expanding its ​liquefied ‌natural gas (LNG) trading, two sources familiar with the matter said.

BP will ⁠lay off around 20 people on its ⁠pipeline gas unit and will ​fold the remaining employees into the company's fast-growing LNG book, the sources said. The move underscores a broader shift since 2022, when ​Europe ‌pivoted away from Russian pipeline gas and toward LNG.

BP declined to comment. European majors have spent decades building large trading desks to profit from price gaps across regions, time periods and derivatives ​markets. That has enabled them to turn volatility into outsized ‌earnings and generate billions during recent supply crises - including the latest Iran-driven disruption - often outperforming more cautious ‌U.S. rivals.

The declining volumes of pipeline gas traded in Europe may be a contributing factor to the layoffs at BP, ​one of the sources said.

LNG is key to BP's strategy, the company has ‌said, as the major seeks to cut debt and prioritise oil and gas projects following an ill-fated foray into renewables.

BP is active ⁠in the ⁠LNG market in Europe, and is ‌a leading buyer and seller of LNG in Asia and the Middle East, ​with long-term sales ​contracts with customers in Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Singapore ‌and Taiwan, as well as in Australia, the company said on its website.

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