New BP Chair Urges Faster Pivot to Oil and Gas

BP’s new Chair, Albert Manifold, has told employees the company must accelerate its pivot back to oil and gas while simplifying a portfolio he described as “overly complex.”

In an internal memo seen by Reuters, Manifold said some of BP’s assets “may be more valuable to others” and emphasized the need to boost profitability. His comments mark a sharp signal that the board intends to quicken the retreat from BP’s earlier renewables-heavy push, a strategy that has drawn investor criticism.

Manifold officially replaced Helge Lund on Tuesday. Lund had faced shareholder discontent over his close ties to former CEO Bernard Looney, who championed BP’s costly expansion into renewables.

BP has pledged to divest $20 billion in assets to cut net debt from $26 billion to between $14 billion and $18 billion by 2027. At the same time, it aims to grow annual cash flow by roughly 20% through 2027, reaching about $14 billion.

“Our financial challenge is we are seeing lower levels of profitability and we have significant debt on our balance sheet,” Manifold wrote. “It’s clear to me that our strategic direction is right, but we need to move faster to accelerate execution.”

During his 11-year tenure as CEO of Irish building materials group CRH, Manifold oversaw a near fivefold increase in its share price through portfolio reshaping and a New York primary listing. Investors hope he can bring similar discipline to BP.

Activist investor Elliott, which holds more than 5% of BP, has pressed the company to cut costs and spending to drive even higher cash flow.

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