BP’s chief executive has rejected speculation that the oil giant could become a takeover target after larger US rivals embarked on a string of deals. 

Murray Auchincloss made the dismissal as part of BP’s quarterly results announcement on Tuesday, which revealed a sharp fall in profits from $8.2bn (£6.8bn) to $3.3bn (£2.7bn).

Despite this, he said he did not fear the prospect of a takeover and restated the company’s commitment to the North Sea.

“I don’t feel vulnerable, in fact, I feel quite confident,” he told the Financial Times.

His comments come after this month’s $60bn mega-merger between ExxonMobil and Pioneer Natural Resources, and Chevron’s $60bn acquisition of Hess Corporation. 

The deals fuelled talk that BP, which is valued at just over £85bn, could be subject to a bid. 

Tuesday’s update also revealed BP will remain active in the North Sea as long as it is viable to do so, with new oil and gas fields already in the pipeline.

That is despite fears Labour will ban all new drilling should it win power at the next election. 

Mr Auchincloss said the company expects to produce oil and gas in the North Sea and other UK waters well into the 2030s.

He said: “We remain very committed to the UK. We have a good concentrated portfolio in the UK west of Shetland and in the North Sea and we continue to develop resources there.

“We’ll be sustaining earnings and production from the North Sea, all the way through 2030. We don’t guide beyond 2030 but certainly, we have the resources to grow. The North Sea continues to be an important part of the portfolio.”

BP has been operating in UK waters for nearly 60 years and has five major production hubs in the North Sea. 

It also operates the huge Clair field in the Atlantic, west of Shetland, which holds an estimated 7bn barrels of oil and gas. 

However, BP’s main driver of profits remains overseas as 50pc of the company’s oil and gas reserves are in the US. That is compared to just 5pc in Britain’s offshore waters. 

In 2022, the company paid a total of $3.6bn in oil and gas production taxes globally, including $1.4bn in the US. But in the UK, oil and gas production generated an $18m tax rebate. 

As for BP’s third-quarter profits, covering July to September, the sharp decline was attributed to recent reductions in the price of oil and gas. 

So far this year, BP has recorded profits of $14.7bn (£12.1bn) – slightly below the $15.4bn (£12.7bn) it earned across the same period last year.