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BP Readies Defenses as Oil Industry Responds to Shell’s Raid

BP executives are concerned the company is vulnerable to an opportunistic bid, according to people familiar with the situation.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

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By Rakteem Katakey, Matthew Campbell and Dinesh Nair

April 20, 2015 at 11:01 PM UTC

Updated on

April 21, 2015 at 8:35 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

As the oil industry takes stock of Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s $70 billion move for BG Group Plc, one company has more to chew on than most.

BP Plc, the U.K.’s most storied oil producer and prime mover in previous rounds of consolidation, is now thinking what was once unthinkable: that it could be next in the cross-hairs.