BP is considering potentially exiting part or all of its operations in the UK North Sea as the oil giant works to strip assets and pay down debt, according to a Bloomberg report, citing “people familiar with the matter.”

BP is conducting an internal review of its upstream operations in the UK, which could fetch about £2 billion in a full divestment, according to Bloomberg.

The review is ongoing and there is no certainty that the company will decide to pursue any divestment in the North Sea, Bloomberg said.

BP is among the last remaining oil majors operating in the UK North Sea, with others including Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips having sold assets. Others like Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp. and TotalEnergies SE have moved to divest or restructure parts of their positions.

The report said BP has been shrinking its presence in the UK North Sea over the last decade, including via the sales of its interest in the Shearwater field to Shell and the Forties pipeline system to Ineos Group Holdings SA.

BP still holds a 45% stake in the Clair Field west of Shetland — the largest oil field on the UK Continental Shelf.

The report said fresh disposals could be among the first by Meg O’Neill, who in April became the first outsider to take up the role of BP chief executive officer.

Bloomberg said O’Neill and BP chairman Albert Manifold have pledged to reverse years of underperformance, which has brought pressure from activist shareholder Elliott Investment Management and cost former CEO Murray Auchincloss his job.

Carol Howle, BP deputy CEO, is overseeing a review of the company’s global portfolio.

Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney said: “I’ve seen the reports and I’d obviously be very concerned about that.

“What will be driving this is the hostile taxation approach of the United Kingdom Government through the energy profits levy, and I’ve told the Prime Minister to his face that the energy profits levy is causing significant economic damage to Scotland and the North Sea oil and gas sector.

“It’s accelerating the decline of the sector and I made it clear to the Prime Minister he should remove that energy profits levy, and the speculation about BP I think should prompt early action from the UK Government.”

Swinney added: “But, as with so many questions of the challenges that we face, the Prime Minister is distracted by his own failures and can’t take the proper actions to protect jobs and employment within Scotland, and that’s an example of the weakness and the failure of a (UK) Labour Government.”

The Bloomberg report comes after UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband described BP’s profits as “morally and economically wrong.”