BP plans to establish a separate business to manage its shale oil and gas assets in the US Lower 48. The US Lower 48 onshore oil and gas business environment has unique characteristics. Responding to these, the new business will operate separately from the rest of BP and will be designed to adapt to the rapidly changing and hyper-competitive energy landscape in the region. This move is expected to help unlock the significant value associated with BP's extensive resource position in the US Lower 48 onshore, which BP currently oversees through its Houston-based North America Gas group. BP is expected to begin disclosing separate financials for the new business in 2015.
BP's North America Gas business operates across a vast US geography, from the onshore Gulf Coast north through the Rocky Mountains, with a presence in several leading US gas basins. Its portfolio includes an extensive unconventional resource base of 7.6 Gboe and an interest in over 21,000 wells.