MW Could BP move its listing to the U.S.? Why a new chair at the oil giant is stirring speculation.

By Steve Goldstein

BP generates about 30% of its earnings in the U.S., UBS analysts note

Could the company once called British Petroleum make America its new home?

The rationale is straightforward: U.S. integrated oil companies trade at a premium to their European rivals, and there also are fewer funds in the U.S. with environmental constraints.

Despite its European rivals Shell $(SHEL)$ and TotalEnergies $(TTE)$ musing about such a move, BP $(BP)$ has steadfastly rejected the idea of moving its primary listing to the U.S. (All three companies have American depository receipts.)

But now that BP has named Albert Manifold as its next chair, analysts are again discussing the issue.

Manifold until last year was CEO of the Irish building-materials company CRH $(CRH)$, which took its listing to the U.S. under his leadership. Since September 2023, CRH's stock price has appreciated by 60%, UBS analysts led by Joshua Stone noted.

"Albert Manifold's appointment as chair of BP will stir speculation the energy group might switch its main stock listing to the U.S. He oversaw a similar move when running construction group CRH and knows the process inside out," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

CRH - despite its Irish roots - generates three-quarters of its earnings in the U.S. In contrast, BP makes about 30% there, the UBS analysts noted.

The UBS analysts also said that the valuation of Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) is helped by those companies' inclusion in key stock-market indexes. To qualify for U.S. index participation, the European energy companies would have to move their headquarters to the U.S. - a move that TotalEnergies, for instance, has explicitly rejected.

Manifold's appointment doesn't necessarily point to a move stateside for BP. The company highlighted his experience of "strategic leadership and operational delivery with a focus on cost efficiency, disciplined capital allocation and cash flow generation."

-Steve Goldstein

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 22, 2025 10:00 ET (14:00 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.