EnQuest, a UK-based North Sea oil producer, cut the top end of its 2026 production guidance from 45,000 to 43,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), narrowing its full-year output target to 41,000-43,000 boepd. ^[1] BP announced on July 31 that it had launched a process to sell its UK North Sea business. ^[2] EnQuest CEO Amjad Bseisu told CNBC on 2026-07-?? that EnQuest is interested in buying BP's oil and gas interests in the North Sea. ^[3] After the guidance cut, EnQuest's share price fell 4.9% to 26 pence (p), having opened at 26.75p and touched an intraday low of 25.25p, its weakest level since the stock's 52-week low of 9.72p set earlier in 2026, before recovering slightly; the 52-week high is 27.95p. ^[4] EnQuest blamed the production guidance cut on a five-week outage at its Magnus field, which it said was triggered by disruption to third-party infrastructure. ^[5] BP has operated in the North Sea for about 60 years, and a sale would mark a major retreat from the basin. ^[6] Bseisu said the UK now imports about half of its energy, which has pushed costs higher, and urged the government to support development of the country's oil and gas resources. ^[7] EnQuest reported adjusted pretax profit of $54.6 million for the first half of 2026. ^[8]