BP - Britain's largest company and the world's third-largest energy company - has appointed new CEO Murray Auchincloss, who has put all new offshore wind turbine projects on hold as he places a new emphasis on oil and gas extraction.
The company says there is dissatisfaction among investors with the company's current course. The new line, which has not yet been made public, is linked to Auchincloss' decision to reduce investment in large, expensive projects with low CO2 development - particularly in connection with offshore wind turbines, which are not expected to bring the company money for a long period of time. Anonymous sources at BP told Reuters.
This is a very significant change of course compared to the previous line under his predecessor Bernard Looney, who took the initiative to quickly move away from fossil fuels. This had a negative impact on share prices at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine have caused oil and gas prices to soar.
Dozens of the company's employees have been given new tasks to investigate the possibilities of making money from renewable energy projects in Britain and Germany, three sources told Reuters.
Auchincloss and one of the heads of BP's financial department Kate Thomson have emphasized new oil and gas investments - especially in the Gulf of Mexico, where BP already has large operations.
The company will also consider investing in biofuels, and the company this week entered into major projects in Brazil by investing in joint ventures for sugar and ethanol production.
Auchincloss has taken a pragmatic line since he became CEO in January - four months after Looney left.
/ritzau/Reuters
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