Earth Science News
CLIMATE SCIENCE
BP to up oil and gas output, slash clean energy spend in overhaul
BP to up oil and gas output, slash clean energy spend in overhaul
By Alexandra BACON
London (AFP) Feb 26, 2025

BP plans to increase production of its more profitable oil and gas business and slash investment in cleaner energy, the British energy giant announced Wednesday to the dismay of environmentalists.

The major strategy overhaul comes after a difficult trading year for BP, which is under pressure from investors to boost its share price, and as countries look to slash carbon emissions.

"We are reducing and reallocating capital expenditure to our highest-returning businesses to drive growth," chief executive Murray Auchincloss said in a statement ahead of a presentation to investors in London.

"This is a reset BP, with an unwavering focus on growing long-term shareholder value," he added.

- Clean energy reset -

The group will cut cleaner energy investment by more than $5 billion annually, while retiring targets on cutting emissions, which BP on Wednesday claimed had been better than expected.

BP will increase oil and gas investment to around $10 billion per year, making up two-thirds of capital expenditure.

"This is positive proof that fossil fuel companies can't or won't be part of climate crisis solutions," senior climate adviser for Greenpeace UK, Charlie Kronick, said in reaction.

"This conversation is over."

BP plans to also offload assets worth a total of $20 billion by 2027, including from the potential sale of its Castrol lubricants division.

The much anticipated update comes after BP suffered a 97-percent slump in net profit last year.

Its profit after tax tumbled to $381 million from $15.2 billion in 2023 in the face of higher costs as well as weaker oil and gas prices.

Total revenue dropped nine percent to $195 billion.

Auchincloss had already put emphasis on oil and gas to boost profits, scaling back on the group's key climate targets since taking the helm at the start of 2024.

The energy group has embarked on a plan to find $2 billion in cost savings and recently axed 4,700 staff jobs, or around five percent of its workforce.

Ahead of the investor day, it has widely been reported that US activist investor Elliott Investment Management has built a significant stake in BP.

The fund is known for forcing through corporate changes within groups it invests in, signalling further upheaval ahead for BP, analysts said.

British rival Shell and other oil majors have also cut back on clean energy objectives.

On the eve of BP's update, TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said that while oil and gas would continue to be produced, "you need to produce it differently with much lower emissions".

The head of the French giant spoke Tuesday at International Energy Week, an annual gathering in London of major players from across the sector.

Shell the same day forecast global demand for liquefied natural gas to rise by about 60 percent by 2040.

It forecast that this would be "largely driven by economic growth in Asia, emissions reductions in heavy industry and transport as well as the impact of artificial intelligence".

Gas is being touted by energy companies as cleaner than other fossil fuels as countries around the world strive to reduce their emissions and slow global warming.

Related Links
Climate Science News - Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
CLIMATE SCIENCE
Britons advised to cut meat, air travel to reach net zero targets
London (AFP) Feb 26, 2025
Britons will have to pay more to fly and should forego two-steaks worth of meat a week if the country is to meet net zero targets, the government's advisory body said Wednesday. The UK's 2008 Climate Change Act requires the government to propose regular, legally binding milestones on the way to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) is charged with advising the government on the level of those milestones, and released its seventh report on Wednesd ... read more

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Pentagon chief visits Guantanamo as US pushes to deport migrants

Anger as German conservatives question NGO funding

Two jailed for 18 years over tower block collapse in Turkey quake

UN watchdog chief visits Fukushima as Japan returns to nuclear power

CLIMATE SCIENCE
NASA CubeSat Finds New Radiation Belts After May 2024 Solar Storm

Ukraine, US agree to terms of minerals, reconstruction deal

Powering Future Electronics with Ultrathin Vanadium Dioxide Films

Indonesian nickel producer to build $1.8 bn plant

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Nauru sells citizenship to fund climate change mitigation

Seeking climate connections among the oceans' smallest organisms

Vanuatu climate minister frets over US climate reversal

Cook Islands PM beats no-confidence vote, slams New Zealand

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Research reveals how Earth got its ice caps

'All eyes on Arctic': Canada boosts its northern force

Giant ice sheets shaped Earth's evolution by altering ocean chemistry

Resilient Algae Accelerate Greenland Ice Melt

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Cognac on the rocks: industry seeks French govt help from Chinese tariffs

EU eyes stricter food import rules in agriculture policy review

Bordeaux wine harvest drops to lowest level since 1991

Pesticides causing widespread harm to animals and plants: study

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Santorini seismic activity down but schools stay shuttered: Greece

Indonesia residents run outside as shallow quake hits

Ill-prepared trekkers swarm Mt Etna for high-altitude selfies

Islanders keen to return to Santorini even as quakes continue

CLIMATE SCIENCE
S.Africa repatriates more than 120 soldiers from DR Congo

Wounded South African soldiers return home from DR Congo

HRW accuses army-aligned force of attack on central Sudan village

In Somalia, 4.4 million people risk hunger by June: report

CLIMATE SCIENCE
The quest to extend human life is both fascinating and fraught with moral peril

New play takes on OpenAI drama and AI's existential questions

Trump signs order to get 'transgender ideology' out of military

How to Design Humane Autonomous Systems

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.