BP’s chief executive, Murray Auchincloss, unveiled a new strategy that he said would “fundamentally reset” the company’s direction away from green energy and back towards oil and gas. Investments in renewables will be cut by 70%. Mr Auchincloss said that BP had underestimated the resilience of demand for fossil fuels and overestimated the speed of the green-energy transition. He had been under pressure to switch direction from investors unhappy with BP’s inert share price. Elliott Management, an activist fund manager, has taken a 5% stake. BP says it is still committed to its sustainability goals.
