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☆ Activist Bluebell believes BP is 50% undervalued compared to peers
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Kenneth Squire | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

The company's segments include gas & low-carbon energy, oil production & operations and customers & products. Its gas business includes upstream activities that produce natural gas, integrated gas and power, and gas trading. Its oil production & operations segment comprises upstream activities that produce crude oil, including Bpx Energy. As of Bluebell's October 4, 2023, letter to BP, BP traded on a price-earnings ratio of 6.7 times, a 44% discount to Chevron and ExxonMobil, which on average traded at 12 times. To make it even clearer how the market views BP's strategy, on February 7, 2023, when BP announced its partial retracement from this strategy, BP's share price rose 8% on the day and 17% on the week.

Persons: Giuseppe Bivona, Marco Taricco, Bivona, –, Helge Lund, Bluebell, BP's, Bernard Looney, Shell, Looney's, Looney, Pamela Daley, Solvay, Glencore, Ken Squire Organizations: BP Bunge, Bpx Energy, Castrol, Bluebell Capital Partners, Bluebell Partners, BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Bluebell, International Energy Agency, EV, Exxon, Shell, Mr, Renewables, Power, BP's Board, BlackRock, 13D Locations: bioenergy, Europe, Bluebell, Paris, Bioenergy, United States, U.S

Auchincloss, a 53-year-old Canadian who was BP’s chief financial officer for more than three years, took on the top job in September after Looney's surprise resignation. Auchincloss joined BP when it took over oil firm Amoco in 1998. “Since September, BP’s board has undertaken a thorough and highly competitive process to identify BP’s next CEO, considering a number of high-caliber candidates in detail,” BP chairman Helge Lund said. He was denied 32.4 million-pound ($41 million) worth of salary, pension, bonus payments and shares, after BP said he had committed “serious misconduct” by misleading the board. BP has had four different bosses over the past 15 years.

Persons: Murray Auchincloss, Bernard Looney, Looney's, Auchincloss, BP’s, ”, Helge Lund, Lund, ” Auchincloss, Charlie Kronick, ” Kronick, ” Looney, Bob Dudley Organizations: BP, Amoco, RBC Capital Markets, Greenpeace Locations: “, Gulf of Mexico

☆ BP appoints Murray Auchincloss as permanent CEO
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BP CEO Murray Auchincloss speaks at the panel dicscussion during the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference held at ADNEC Exhibition Center on October 2, 2023. LONDON — Oil and gas major BP appointed Murray Auchincloss as permanent CEO, the company said Wednesday. The energy company said it carried out a search process to appoint the new company boss since September. "It's an honour to lead BP — this is a great company with great people. Our strategy — from international oil company to integrated energy company, or IOC to IEC — does not change.

Persons: Murray Auchincloss, Bernard Looney, Auchincloss, Murray, Helge Lund, I'm Organizations: Abu, Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition, ADNEC, BP, Amoco Canada, IEC Locations: Abu Dhabi

☆ Former BP boss Bob Dudley says Looney’s shock exit ‘came out of nowhere’
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Arun Sankar | Afp | Getty ImagesFormer BP CEO Bob Dudley on Tuesday said that Bernard Looney's abrupt resignation last month came as a shock and denied any prior knowledge of the latter's past personal relationships with colleagues. Looney succeeded Dudley, who stood down as BP CEO in 2020. He informed the company that he was not "fully transparent in his previous disclosures" about relationships with colleagues before becoming CEO, BP said. "Things at BP are OK. We move forward as you would expect, despite the change that happens," interim BP CEO Murray Auchincloss said Monday during a CNBC-moderated ADIPEC panel session. Dudley — who now chairs the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, an organization backed by BP, Saudi Aramco, Exxon Mobil and other Big Oil firms — echoed Auchincloss' view.

Persons: Bernard Looney, Arun Sankar, Bob Dudley, Bernard Looney's, Dudley, Looney, Murray Auchincloss, Auchincloss, It's, Dudley — Organizations: Afp, Getty, BP, Financial Times, CNBC, Abu Dhabi International Progressive Energy Congress, BP Plc, Abu, Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition, United, Bloomberg, Climate Initiative, Exxon Mobil, Big Oil Locations: New Delhi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Aramco

[1/2] The BP logo is seen on gasoline pumps at a BP gas station in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 24, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - BP's (BP.L) top executive in the United States, Dave Lawler, is leaving the company, the energy company said on Friday in a memo to employees, less than three weeks after the company's chief executive, Bernard Looney, resigned. He is the younger brother of Doug Lawler, chief executive of Continental Resources, another large U.S. shale oil and gas producer. BPX operations in Texas and Louisiana last year produced an average of 325,000 barrels of oil and gas per day. Alvarez, who joined the company in 1996, will continue in his role as senior vice president gas and power trading, Americas.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Dave Lawler, Bernard Looney, Helge Lund, Lawler, Doug Lawler, Orlando Alvarez, Alvarez, Kyle Koontz, Ron Bousso, Juby Babu, Shilpi Majumdar, Daniel Wallis, Leslie Adler Organizations: REUTERS, BP, Energy, Continental Resources, Reuters, BP America, BPX Energy, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York City, U.S, United States, Gulf of Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, BP America, Americas, London, Bengaluru

☆ BP names Kate Thomson as interim CFO in post-Looney reshuffle
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The International Energy Agency recently reported that 2021 saw energy-related carbon dioxide emissions rise to their highest level in history. BP on Tuesday appointed Kate Thomson as interim chief financial officer to take the place of Murray Auchincloss who became interim CEO last week. The reshuffle follows the abrupt departure of CEO Bernard Looney last week after he did not fully disclose past relationships with colleagues. Thomson, who joined BP nearly 20 years ago, previously headed the finances of the energy giant's oil and gas production and operations division. Auchincloss, 52, worked closely with Looney in devising BP's energy transition strategy and has advocated a focus on high-return assets to finance the transition, according to two company sources.

Persons: Kate Thomson, Murray Auchincloss, Bernard Looney, Thomson, Auchincloss, Looney Organizations: International Energy Agency, BP, Aker BP Locations: London

☆ BP boss who resigned over undisclosed relationships with colleagues ended his marriage by text message, says ex-wife
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Bernard Looney resigned as CEO of BP on Tuesday over undisclosed relationships with colleagues. His ex-wife, Jacqueline Hurst, wrote in her 2021 book he ended their marriage in a text message. The author and life coach, who married Looney in 2017, said that the way he ended their marriage was "unbelievable". Looney resigned as CEO of BP after less than four years in the role. AdvertisementAdvertisementIt's not the first sudden resignation by a BP CEO.

Persons: Bernard Looney, Jacqueline Hurst, Looney, hadn't, Hurst, he'd, it's, John Browne, Steve Easterbrook, McDonald's, Looney didn't Organizations: BP, Service, Evening, Financial Times, Reuters Locations: Wall, Silicon, Mexico

BP’s (BP.L) chief executive resigned late on Tuesday after the UK oil giant’s board found he had not been sufficiently transparent about past relationships with company colleagues. While his exit appears unrelated to strategy, it puts Chair Helge Lund and the rest of BP’s board on the spot over the $112 billion group’s future direction. On the face of it, BP’s strategy should be unaffected by Looney’s missteps. While Looney subsequently revised the reduction in hydrocarbons to 25%, BP remained more committed to the energy transition than European rival Shell (SHEL.L) or U.S. giants Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and Chevron (CVX.N). Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsLund and board colleagues may be minded to do the same.

Persons: Bernard Looney, Helge Lund, Looney’s missteps, Looney, Wael Sawan, Norway’s Equinor, Murray Auchincloss, Peter Thal Larsen, Sharon Lam Organizations: Reuters, BP, Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Exxon, New Shell, Reuters Graphics, Graphics Lund, International Energy Agency, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Germany, U.S

BP scaled back its energy transition strategy earlier this year but still stands out among rivals as the only oil major with plans to cut oil and gas output by 2030 by 25%. Auchincloss told staff in a brief town hall meeting on Wednesday that the company's aims were unchanged. As part of his energy transition strategy he had committed to BP reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. BP's strategy came under renewed scrutiny after rival Shell (SHEL.L) slowed down its energy transition strategy in June. "(The BP board) have enough flexibility within the current strategy to focus more on cash flow," a second source close to the company said.

Persons: Chris Helgren, Looney, Murray Auchincloss, Bernard Looney's, Auchincloss, hasn't, Helge Lund, Murray, Ron Bousso, Dmitry Zhdannikov, Jane Merriman, Mark Potter, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: BP, REUTERS, Board, Investors, Canadian, Reuters, Shell, Thomson Locations: Vancouver , British Columbia, Canada

☆ BP CEO's resignation: Investors dislike uncertainty, analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBP CEO's resignation: Investors dislike uncertainty, analyst saysSophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says there is a great deal of uncertainty about who's going to take the top job on a full-time basis, and the market has been "incredibly supportive" of BP CEO Bernard Looney's strategies.

Persons: Sophie Lund, Yates, Hargreaves Lansdown, Bernard Looney's

Looney's surprise resignation came after allegations of personal relationships with company colleagues surfaced recently, prompting the company to launch an investigation. That followed allegations the board investigated in May 2022 relating to personal relationships with company employees. During that review, Looney disclosed "a small number of historical relationships with colleagues prior to becoming CEO." Looney informed BP's board on Tuesday that he did not fully disclose details of all relationships, prompting his resignation. BP shares ended up 1% before the FT earlier reported his resignation after trading closed in London.

Persons: Bernard Looney, Amr Abdallah Dalsh, Murray Auchincloss, Looney, Looney's, BP's, Bob Dudley, Anirudh, Krishna Chandra Eluri, Marguerita Choy Organizations: BP, Egypt's, Petroleum, REUTERS, BP Auchincloss, Shell, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Morningstar, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Cairo, Egypt, London, New York, COVID, Russia, Ukraine, Bengaluru, Shadia

☆ BP CEO Bernard Looney resigns after not being 'fully transparent' on prior relationships
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Bernard Looney, CEO of BP, speaks during the 2023 CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston, March 7, 2023. BP chief executive officer Bernard Looney has resigned after less than four years on the job, the London-based oil producer announced Tuesday. The resignation of Looney, who took over as CEO of BP in 2020 after previously leading BP's Upstream group, focused on exploration and production, is effective immediately. The company's chief financial officer Murray Auchincloss will serve as interim CEO, BP said. The change comes as Looney informed the company that he was not "fully transparent in his previous disclosures" about relationships with colleagues prior to becoming CEO, BP said.

Persons: Bernard Looney, Looney, Murray Auchincloss Organizations: BP, P Global, Company, Financial Times Locations: Houston, London, U.S

LONDON (AP) — The chief executive of British energy giant BP has resigned after he accepted that he was not “fully transparent” in his disclosures about past relationships with colleagues, the company said Tuesday. He is stepping down with immediate effect and will be replaced by chief financial officer Murray Auchincloss on an interim basis, BP said. A statement from the firm said its board reviewed allegations relating to Looney's conduct “in respect of personal relationships with company colleagues" in May last year. The executive disclosed a small number of past relationships prior to becoming CEO and no breach of company rules was found, the statement said. “The company has strong values and the board expects everyone at the company to behave in accordance with those values.

Persons: Bernard Looney, Murray Auchincloss, Looney “, Looney Organizations: BP

LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - BP (BP.L) launched on Thursday Britain's largest electric vehicle charging hub near Birmingham, capable of serving up to 180 cars. The hub, located on the intersection of three motorways in central England, includes 30 ultra-fast 300 kilowatt charging stations, which can add 100 miles (160.93 km)of driving range in 15 minutes, as well as 150 7kw slow-charging points. It is part of a plan to invest 1 billion pounds ($1.25 billion) this decade to build hundreds of EV charging hubs in the country, Akira Kirton, CEO of BP Pulse, the company's UK EV charging arm, told Reuters. BP Pulse uses 100% renewable power at its charging stations, Kirton said. EV charging is a central pillar in BP CEO Bernard Looney's energy transition plan, targeting returns of 15%.

Persons: Akira Kirton, Kirton, Bernard Looney's, Ron Bousso, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: EV, BP, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Birmingham, England

☆ Here's why Diddy is suing Diageo over his vodka and tequila brands
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Stefan Sykes | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Diddy attends The After, hosted by the entrepreneur and Doja Cat, powered by Ciroc Premium Vodka and DeLeon Tequila at Club Love in New York City, May 1, 2023. Sean "Diddy" Combs is suing multinational spirits giant Diageo for alleged racial discrimination in the handling of his vodka and tequila brands, which Combs claims the company typecast as "Black brands." In a lawsuit filed Wednesday with the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan, Combs' lawyers accuse Diageo of neglecting his Ciroc vodka and DeLeon tequila brands, and of marginalizing their appeal by marketing them as "urban" brands. Following the success of the partnership, Diageo co-purchased the DeLeon tequila brand with Combs' company in 2013. Diageo, a multibillion-dollar, publicly traded spirits company based in London, owns more than 200 brands, including the Don Julio tequila brand.

Persons: Diddy, DeLeon Tequila, Sean, Combs, DeLeon, Puffy, George Clooney's, Clooney's, Bump Williams, Don Julio, Stephen Rust, Martha Stewart, Rust, They're Organizations: Diageo, New York Supreme, Clooney's Casamigos, Nielsen, CNBC Locations: New York City, Manhattan, London, Ciroc

Looney's base salary of 1.3 million pounds was topped up by retirement benefits and performance-related elements including an annual bonus and shares to 10.03 million pounds ($11.99 million), more than double the 4.46 million pounds he was awarded in 2021. The ex-CEO of energy rival Shell (SHEL.L), Ben van Beurden, saw his pay package rise 53% to 9.7 million pounds after Shell reported record profits of $40 billion. EMISSIONSBP's emissions in 2022 were broadly unchanged from the previous year at around 340 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, according to its annual report and Reuters calculations. Unlike Shell, BP in its figures excludes emissions from fuels it sells that are derived from crude oil it does not produce. This measure includes all energy BP sells including fuel originally produced by other companies.

Last month he applied the brakes, slowing BP's planned cuts in oil and gas and scaling back planned renewables spending in the wake of the war in Ukraine. The oil major isn't backing away from renewables though, its green chief Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath stresses, it's simply changing the terms of the relationship. "I'm (now) just reviewing the onshore renewables part - so the onshore wind and solar part." BP's head of renewables and gas didn't elaborate on the nature of the latest review. The green stakes are high, though, given solar alone comprises more than half of BP's 43-gigawatt renewables project pipeline.

☆ Big Oil doubles profits in blockbuster 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Ron Bousso | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The profit surge gave the oil companies scope to increase spending on oil and gas projects, and a chance for some to rethink energy transition strategies to meet new demands for security of supply. The combined $219 billion in profits allowed BP (BP.L), Chevron (CVX.N), Equinor (EQNR.OL), Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), Shell (SHEL.L) and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) to shower shareholders with cash. Oil companies last year also pulled out of Russia, a major energy producer, leading to huge writedowns, including BP's $24 billion exit from its 19.75% stake in Kremlin-controlled oil giant Rosneft (ROSN.MM). Benchmark oil prices are currently near $85 a barrel. BP will lean more into oil & gas for the remainder of this decade," Clint said in a note.

As a result, BP reduced its ambitions to cut emissions from fuels sold to customers to 20-30% by 2030, from 35-40%. BP's $4.8 billion fourth-quarter underlying replacement cost profit, its definition of net income, narrowly missed a $5 billion company-provided analyst forecast. The results were impacted by weaker gas trading activity after an "exceptional" third quarter, higher refinery maintenance and lower oil and gas prices. But for the year, BP's $27.6 billion profit exceeded its 2008 record of $26 billion despite a $25 billion writedown of its Russian assets. BP, whose trading operations further boost renewables returns, maintained plans to have 50 gigawatts (GW) of renewable projects under development and 10 GW operating by 2030.

The bumper earnings have prompted new calls to further tax the sector as households struggle to pay their energy bills. In a strategy update, BP said it will increase annual spending by $1 billion for both renewables and oil and gas with a sharper focus on developing low-carbon biofuels and hydrogen. That compared with $4 billion a year earlier and $8.2 billion in the third quarter of 2022. The results were impacted by weaker gas trading activity after an "exceptional" third quarter, higher refinery maintenance and lower oil and gas prices. But for the year, BP's $27.6 billion profit exceeded its previous record of $26 billion in 2008.

☆ I Outsourced My Memory: How to Remember Everything You Have Read Online
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Shubham Agarwal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

No matter what or how much I read online, my mind can't help but forget it shortly after. Because of this, multiple studies found that participants who read offline performed better in comprehension, concentration, and recall than participants who read online. In the three weeks I spent with the app, I found it was effective at helping me remember things, but it comes with a catch: Using a memory tool like this has the potential to make your biological memory worse over time. While Heyday's browser tool behaved like a memory assistant, its website felt like a snapshot of my online memory. But given the mounting volume of text we read online, perhaps we have already passed the point of no return.

☆ World needs to accept the urgent need for fossil fuel investment now, BP CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In this article BP.-GB Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTBP CEO Bernard Looney photographed in Texas on March 8, 2022. During a panel discussion on Oct. 31, 2022, Looney said his firm's strategy was to "to invest in hydrocarbons today, because today's energy system is a hydrocarbon system." F. Carter Smith | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBP's strategy is centered around investing in hydrocarbons whilst simultaneously putting money into the planned energy transition, the oil and gas supermajor's CEO said Monday. A major producer of oil and gas, BP says it's aiming to become a net-zero company by the year 2050 or before. He described it as "delusional" and called for an abandonment of fossil fuel finance.

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