BP Abandons Goal To Cut Oil Output, Resets Strategy

BP has abandoned a target to cut oil and gas output by 2030 as Chief Executive Officer, Murray Auchincloss scales back the firm’s energy transition strategy to regain investor confidence.

Three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that when unveiled in 2020, BP’s strategy was the sector’s most ambitious with a pledge to cut output by 40% while rapidly growing renewables by 2030.

BP scaled back the target in February last year to a 25% reduction, which would leave it producing 2 million barrels per day at the end of the decade, as investors focused on near-term returns rather than the energy transition.

The sources said the London-listed company is now targeting several new investments in the Middle East and the Gulf of Mexico to boost its oil and gas output.

The 54-year-old Canadian, previously BP’s finance head, has sought to distance himself from the approach of his predecessor Bernard Looney, who was sacked for lying about relationships with colleagues, vowing instead to focus on returns and investing in the most profitable businesses, first and foremost in oil and gas.