Capital Economy, Business and Finance
No wonder BP boss Murray Auchincloss is proposing a “fundamental reset”. Elliott Management has taken a nearly 5 per cent stake and sources close to the activist hedge fund tell the FT that “minor course corrections” won’t cut the mustard.
New limits on spending for renewables and major asset sales are certainly on the cards for BP, which posted its worst full-year profit since 2020 on Tuesday.
A board shake-up might be due too. “I understand the board is about a 50-50 split on strategy,” says a source close to the company.
“Half are still very, very green… the other half wants to get back to the core business, fossil fuels. Helge Lund [BP’s chair] doesn’t like controversy so much. He’s being remarkably quiet.”
With good reason. Lund, along with consultants brought in from his former employer McKinsey, provided guidance to former CEO Bernard Looney on the bold strategic shift away from oil and gas that defined his tenure and is frequently blamed for BP’s slumping share price.
The reality might be more complicated, but Elliott is unlikely to see it that way. Sometimes a fresh start begins at the top.
