Chief Executive Bernard Looney plans to dial back elements of the oil giant’s high-profile push into renewable energy, according to people familiar with recent discussions. Mr. Looney has said he is disappointed in the returns from some of the oil giant’s renewable investments and plans to pursue a narrower green-energy strategy…
In some of the conversations, Mr. Looney has said he plans to place less emphasis on so-called ESG goals—a catchall term for environmental, social and governance—to help clarify that those aren’t distracting the company from its ability to deliver profits, the people said…
Shares of BP and London-based rival Shell PLC over the past several years have lagged behind those of U.S. competitors, especially the biggest, Exxon Mobil Corp. BP shares are up about 7% from the end of January 2020, having recovered from pandemic lows, while Exxon shares have nearly doubled over the same period.
…the company’s mainstay oil and gas production rose 2.6 percent last year. Supplies of liquefied natural gas — a chilled, compressed fuel transported by ships — rose by more than 20 percent.
Mr. Auchincloss said that oil output would continue to rise 2 percent to 3 percent a year through 2027 because of production increases in Abu Dhabi, Angola, the United States and elsewhere.
BP said Tuesday it wrote down the value of its U.S. offshore wind business by $1.1 billion last year, cementing a strategic shift for the British petroleum giant as it increases oil and gas production while recalibrating its efforts to generate clean electricity from ocean turbines. The announcement follows BP’s split last month with Equinor, the Norwegian oil company it had partnered with on three offshore wind projects that would serve customers in New York.
Auchincloss can no doubt be only too aware of BP’s lagging share price relative to its rivals in recent years, which many blame on the company’s green agenda. BP’s shares are trading broadly in line with pre-pandemic levels, but by contrast ExxonMobil’s share price has surged by about 40% over the period.
BP has been in and out of renewables for decades. When I was outfitting my sailboat some 25/30 years ago Siemens and BP were two of the best solar panel producers.