Former BP boss Looney joins climate focussed AI start-up March 4, 2025 Former BP chief executive Bernard Looney has been appointed chairman of a sustainability-focussed AI start-up nearly a year and a half after his scandalous departure from the oil major. London-headquartered ExpertAI aims to reduce small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) emissions by improving access to local green suppliers and subsidies. Looney joins a year and a [...]
Mark Kleinman: A reset BP might not have drilled deep enough for activists February 27, 2025 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column. Today, he tackles activist investors drilling into BP, Ratcliffe’s cost-cutting and a big ticket auction A reset BP might not have drilled deep enough for activists Bernard’s Parable or Belated Pivot? These might be the most concise [...]
BP ramps up fossil fuel spending and rows back on green targets February 26, 2025 BP will dial up its spending on oil and gas by $10bn (£7.9bn), slash its investment into renewable energy and offload $20bn of underperforming assets as part of a major strategic overhaul that aims to boost its beleaguered share price. In a much anticipated – and delayed – announcement from boss Murray Auchincloss, the British [...]
The Week in Business: Is Net Zero going out of fashion? February 14, 2025 Just a few short years ago BP proudly told us they were embarking on a journey – and I quote – “in support of our purpose to reimagine energy for people and our planet, and our ambition to become a Net Zero company by 2050 or sooner and help the world get to Net Zero.” [...]
Elliott takes up £3.8bn stake in BP February 13, 2025 Notorious activist investor Elliott Management has taken up a £3.8bn stake in BP, becoming the ailing oil major’s third-largest shareholder, according to reports. The US fund’s investment in the London-listed petrochemical giant emerged last weekend, shortly before BP reported an anaemic set of full-year results that saw its profit slump to $8.9bn (£7.9bn). The earnings [...]
BP’s Net Zero push has crashed into reality February 12, 2025 I remember when I first encountered a hard copy FTSE 100 annual report. I was a first year undergraduate and my achingly left-wing lecturer in Business and Politics dropped copies in front of us in a seminar room, and asked us to rank the directors “on a fat cat scale.” I can still recall the [...]
BP to target shareholder returns as firm plans fundamental reset February 11, 2025 Oil and gas giant BP has promised to “fundamentally reset” its strategy and improve its performance after profit crashed last year. On Tuesday, the group reported a near 50 per cent decline in profit for the fourth quarter due to a collapse in profit at its refining arm. The results prompted boss Murray Auchincloss to [...]
BP shares top the FTSE 100 as Elliott stake ignites breakup chatter February 10, 2025 BP shares jumped to the top of the FTSE 100 this morning as a rumour emerged that an activist hedge fund had taken a position in the stock. Shares in the blue-chip oil giant jumped eight per cent in early deals on the news activist hedge fund Elliott Investment Management had built a position in [...]
Cut taxes for BP and Shell to protect UK from Trump’s trade war, Rachel Reeves told February 6, 2025 Oil giants such as BP and Shell who operate in the North Sea should be given huge tax breaks to help protect the UK against Donald Trump’s burgeoning trade war, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been told. Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce is calling on the UK government to reduce the 78 per cent tax [...]
Shell’s spending on renewables falls as firm prioritises shareholder returns January 30, 2025 Shell paid out more than £18.7bn to shareholders in 2024 while cutting spending on renewable energy according to its full year results. The FTSE 100 giant reported a dip in earnings from £23bn in 2023 to £19.1bn in 2024 amid weaker oil prices and lower demand for fossil fuels. Despite the drop-off in earnings, Shell said [...]