Energy Transition

BP 'denying' AGM vote on strategic reset, says green activist shareholder

Greener BP shareholders may not get much opportunity to oppose UK oil major's decision to go back to black

BP CEO Murray Auchincloss.
BP CEO Murray Auchincloss.Photo: BP
Senior Correspondent
BP shareholders concerned about the way the company is being steered away from renewables and back towards oil and gas have criticised a refusal to allow a vote on the decision to "fundamentally reset" its strategy.

The UK oil major has published the agenda for its next annual general meeting of shareholders, with no mention of the strategic reset announced last month by CEO Murray Auchincloss.

The new plan slashes BP clean energy investments and rows back on an earlier strategy that would have actively encouraged a gradual decline in the company’s own production of fossil fuels.

Declining to allow shareholders an opportunity to vote on the new strategy stands in sharp contrast to the decision to hold a vote on the green energy strategy in 2022, argued Mark van Baal, a representative of Follow This, a group of activist green shareholders that has built up positions in large oil companies.

“Now the board has unilaterally decided to change the strategy, notably scrapping climate aims, they suddenly no longer ask shareholder support,” he wrote. “BP's disregard for shareholders will not sit well with a sizable number of investors who want the company to continue their transition.”

Some BP investors have reportedly called for a shareholders' vote before any "reset" of strategy that waters down the company’s climate commitments.
US hedge fund Elliott Management has however spearheaded an aggressive push to steer BP even further away from the renewables sector.

Integrated European oil majors in general, and BP in particular, have lagged behind US peers in terms of stock market valuation and many analysts see this as more a question of strategy than any problem with assets or European rates.

“The difference has been observed for several years, but the gap has widened even more lately,” Henrik Kulseng-Hanssen, head of investment banking with Norway’s SpareBank 1, told an industry event last week.

“European names are trading at a price earnings of around 8 compared to more than 14 for US peers and our research suggest that this… is a question of strategic capital allocation and long term returns.”

Even before Elliott built up its 5% position in BP, Auchincloss had been leading a retreat from the transformational green energy strategy put in place by his predecessor Bernard Looney.

Supply chain inflation, higher interest rates and geopolitical turbulence have made it difficult for BP to deliver the returns on renewables promised by Looney and Auchincloss has responded by shifting the emphasis to value creation.

Unimpressed by this logic, van Baal accused BP’s supervisory board of being “afraid of its shareholders.”

“Voting at AGMs is the only formal power shareholders have. We wouldn’t be surprised if shareholders vote against re-elections of board members, which is the only way to signal their concerns that BP leaves them with,” he stated.

In 2020, Follow This withdrew an activist climate resolution after then-CEO Looney promised to set emissions reduction targets. The next year, the activist group expressed satisfaction when 20% of shareholders, including BlackRock, voted for a resolution to urge BP to strengthen its emissions reduction targets.
Even without the vote on the "fundamental reset" strategy, there will be a packed agenda for BP shareholders, the BP notice of meeting shows.

Voting will kick off on 17 April with resolutions on the re-election of Helge Lund as chairman and Auchincloss as CEO.

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Published 7 March 2025, 10:20Updated 7 March 2025, 10:23
BPHelge LundBernard LooneyMurray AuchinclossUK