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Leader of BP shareholders provides for legal and general plans to vote against the re -election of the outgoing president of the company at the annual meeting next week, as a sign of dissatisfaction with the changing strategy of the major oil.
L&G, one of the 10 best investors with a 1.8%participation, said that it was “deeply concerned” by BP's decision to return to oil and gas and away from a radical investment in renewable energies, and the absence of a vote on the subject.
“We believe that climate change represents a long -term material and systemic risk for our customers' portfolios”, l & g written in an article on his website Friday, when he announced his intention to reject the re -election of Helge Lund. Several small shareholders plan to vote in the same way during Aga Thursday.
The position of L&G is in contradiction with certain other leading shareholders, in particular the activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which prompted BP to reduce expenses for renewable energies.
The divergent views of its main investors highlight the difficulty encountered by BP and other large oil companies while they are content to stick to fossil fuels in the middle of global pressure to combat climate change, or to move to renewable energies, which generally have lower yields, although stable.
BP said this month that Lund would resign “most likely in 2026” having assumed the role in 2019 with a mandate to guide the oil company through the energy transition and select a new managing director.
His choice to direct the company, Bernard Looney, set up the aggressive push towards renewable energies, before Looney was rejected in 2023 for having omitted to speak to the board of directors of his relations with his colleagues.
The green strategy placed BP before competitors in the efforts to travel renewable energies, but it also attracted the decline and ultimately failed to gain sufficient support for shareholders.
This left him vulnerable to pressure, notably Elliott, who built an participation of almost 5% in the company FTSE 100 and called for scanning changes.
BP's decision to abandon its renewable campaign was announced in February by current CEO Murray Auchincloss.
The announcement of the release of Lund seems insufficient to avoid a potentially embarrassing Aga vote.
The Dresso active manager also plans to vote against the president, as are the other small investors in the nest of British pension funds and the border pensions partnership.
Michiel Van Esch, head of vote at Robeco, said this month that he had “growing concerns about resilience (BP) by the energy transition and in relation to the consistency of his approach to climate governance”.
Diandra SOOBIAH, director of responsible investments at Nest, who has a participation of 30 million pounds sterling in the company, said that the BP switch had “compromised the confidence and confidence” of the Board of Directors.
Colin Baines, director of the Border To Coast stewardship, who has a 0.14% BP participation, said that she was “deeply concerned about BP management” and her inability to request a new mandate from the shareholders.
L&G said that if Lund's plan to resign was positive, he wanted the succession process “to follow a clearer and faster calendar”.
BP said that he had “received a large support for our reset strategy and the changes we have presented” in an “extensive commitment program with shareholders” since the February announcement.
He added: “The coherent message also received is that our objective should be delivery – execute the strategy and reach the targets we have set. This is our priority.”
AGA Row came while UBS has downgraded its recommendation on BP Stock to “buy” “neutral”, saying that market uncertainty has made its strategy more difficult to deliver.
The price of oil has slipped in the past two weeks due to concerns about the effect of a trade war between the United States and China, and the OPEC + Coalition plans to increase production compared to May. Brent Crude was negotiated at around $ 63 per barrel on Friday, against almost $ 75 last Wednesday.
