Facing an activist investor and ongoing uncertainty over tariffs, oil company and ampm parent bp on Tuesday revealed a 180-degree pivot on its clean-energy plans with a renewed focus on fossil fuel.
In releasing its first-quarter earnings, the London-based company that introduced a systemwide “reset strategy” in February, set forth its goal of boosting production of oil and gas in the U.S. by more than 50% in the next five years, while also abandoning plans to bolster its renewable-energy business.
Giulia Chierchia, who joined bp in 2020 as the company’s sustainability chief, said she would leave her post June 1, according to reports, which added that bp would do away with the role. Activist investor Elliott Investment Management, a New York-based hedge fund, reportedly pressured bp to make the change, according to a Reuters report.
“We’re pretty tightly aligned with the president,” bp CEO Murray Auchincloss told The Wall Street Journal. “It’s both in oil and gas onshore and oil and gas in the Gulf of America,” he added, using President Donald Trump’s preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico.
- bp is No. 7 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by total number of company-owned stores.
Bp’s first-quarter profits dropped nearly 50%, to $1.4 billion, compared to the same period a year ago. Cash flow from operations declined to $2.83 billion compared to $7.43 billion during the fourth quarter. Net debt rose to $27 billion, though the company said it intends to lower its debt to between $14 billion to $18 billion by the end of 2027.
For the second quarter, bp said it expects “seasonally higher” customer volumes, while upstream production remains flat.
“In February, we announced a fundamental reset of our strategy—to grow the upstream, focus the downstream and invest with discipline—and we have already made significant progress,” Auchincloss said in prepared remarks.
Bp had previously said it aimed to reach net-zero status on greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner, while it focused on building its electric vehicle charging capacity.
Early this year, the company announced plans to slash 5% of its global workforce.
Bp, which has a U.S. headquarters in Chicago, owns TravelCenters of America, as well as convenience-store brands ampm and Thorntons.
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