BP Goes Big on Shale Oil Drilling as Many Rivals Flatline Output

BP Plc is aggressively expanding shale drilling, bucking the conservative approach of many rivals, as the UK oil giant seeks to reverse years of anemic output.

The company’s BPX Energy unit plans to increase production from shale fields by 8% this year, BPX Chief Executive Officer Kyle Koontz said during an interview in Houston. Shale output equivalent to 500,000 barrels a day would make up roughly 20% of the parent company’s current worldwide production.

By the end of the decade, Koontz’s goal is to raise that to 650,000 a day. The plan is part of BP’s grander ambitions of reversing ...