BP has made a decisive U-turn on its “greening” strategy by slashing renewable energy investment and boosting fossil fuel production targets.
After facing pressure from shareholders, CEO Murray Auchincloss said the company’s optimism for the transition was “misplaced” and that he now has “16 million barrels to pursue” through 27 new projects over the next five years.
One of them – a deal to develop four oil fields in Kirkuk, Iraq – was signed a day before the reset, and was welcomed by Iraqi officials.
But much like BP’s shareholders, they too have red lines: Iraq’s oil minister has said they will “not tolerate gas flaring, whatever the quantity”.
In 2022 the BBC and Greenpeace revealed how areas near BP’s Rumaila oilfield in the south of the country had high levels of cancer-causing pollutants linked to flaring.
BP is facing court action from a man who claims the company’s actions contributed to his 21-year-old son’s death from leukaemia.
