Strategic Petroleum Reserve Overview: The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve was established in 1975 to mitigate oil supply disruptions, particularly highlighted during the 1973-1974 oil embargo. Under President Biden, over 200 million barrels were released in 2022, mainly due to the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, raising concerns about the original purpose of the reserve.
Current Oil Market Trends: Oil prices have recently fallen below $60 per barrel due to oversupply and weak demand, with expectations of further declines as OPEC+ plans to unwind production cuts. Analysts predict prices could average around $50 per barrel through 2026.
Investment Opportunities in Energy Sector: Major integrated oil companies like BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and TotalEnergies are highlighted as strong investment options, offering substantial dividends and positive ratings from Wall Street firms, despite the current low oil prices.
Chevron's Acquisition of Hess Corporation: Chevron announced a $53 billion all-stock acquisition of Hess Corporation, which is expected to close soon, further consolidating Chevron's position in the energy market and enhancing its operational capabilities.
Wall Street analysts forecast BP stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for BP is 84.26 USD with a low forecast of 6.38 USD and a high forecast of 503.69 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
11 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast BP stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for BP is 84.26 USD with a low forecast of 6.38 USD and a high forecast of 503.69 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
5 Buy
5 Hold
1 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 35.430
Low
6.38
Averages
84.26
High
503.69
Current: 35.430
Low
6.38
Averages
84.26
High
503.69
Scotiabank
Outperform -> NULL
downgrade
$43 -> $41
2026-01-16
Reason
Scotiabank
Price Target
$43 -> $41
AI Analysis
2026-01-16
downgrade
Outperform -> NULL
Reason
Scotiabank lowered the firm's price target on BP to $41 from $43 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm is updating its price targets for U.S. Integrated Oil, Refining, and Large Cap Exploration & Production, E&P, stocks under its coverage, the analyst tells investors. Scotiabank expects earnings for the quarter to be straightforward due to the absence of major winter weather disruptions. Additionally, looking ahead, the firm expects investors to focus on whether recent market turmoil will cause changes to 2026 guidance and if any E&P companies will adopt cost reduction programs.
Piper Sandler
Neutral
downgrade
$44 -> $43
2026-01-08
Reason
Piper Sandler
Price Target
$44 -> $43
2026-01-08
downgrade
Neutral
Reason
Piper Sandler lowered the firm's price target on BP to $43 from $44 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm says that entering 2026, while the chairs have shuffled around a bit, the song remains similar to twelve months ago - a bearish crude outlook that is likely to make it difficult for the sector to outperform the broader market. On the flip side, Piper sees the refining market as even better than 2025, driven by what its expects to be incrementally tighter S/D and crude differential tailwinds.
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Jefferies
Hold
maintain
2026-01-07
Reason
Jefferies
Price Target
2026-01-07
maintain
Hold
Reason
Jefferies raised the firm's price target on BP to 440 GBp from 420 GBp and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. The firm said it is maintaining its Hold view ahead of the company's new CEO starting and including balance sheet gearing analysis in the view.
Morgan Stanley
Equal Weight
downgrade
2026-01-06
Reason
Morgan Stanley
Price Target
2026-01-06
downgrade
Equal Weight
Reason
Morgan Stanley lowered the firm's price target on BP to 415 GBp from 456 GBp and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares.
About BP
BP p.l.c. is a United Kingdom-based integrated energy company. Its segments include Gas & low carbon energy, Oil production & operations, Customers & products, and Other businesses & corporate. The gas & low carbon energy comprises regions with upstream businesses that predominantly produce natural gas, gas marketing and trading activities and its solar, wind and hydrogen businesses. The oil production & operations segment comprises regions with upstream activities that predominantly produce crude oil, including bpx energy. The customers & products segment comprises its customer-focused businesses, which include convenience and retail fuels, electric vehicle (EV) charging, as well as Castrol, aviation and business-to-business (B2B) and midstream. It also includes its products businesses, refining and oil trading, as well as its bioenergy businesses. The other businesses and corporate also comprises the Company's shipping and treasury functions, and corporate activities worldwide.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
