BP's green energy architect forced out as profits halve
Giulia Chierchia, who heads up BP's sustainability division, will leave on June 1, the company said on Tuesday, just days after it emerged that the activist hedge fund Elliott Management was pushing for her replacement.
It came as BP said profits halved in the first three months of 2025 compared with a year ago. BP's shares fell by more than 4pc in early trading after it posted a 49pc fall in profits to $1.38bn (£1.03bn), falling short of analysts' expectations of $1.53bn.
BP is scrambling to shift its focus away from the climate-friendly agenda set by Bernard Looney, its former chief executive who was sacked in 2023 after misleading the board over relationships with colleagues.
Ms Chierchia was hired under Mr Looney in 2020 with a role that also included 'embedding the group's ethics and compliance within the organisation'. Last week it was reported that Elliott, which owns more than 5pc of BP's shares, was pushing for her to be removed.
A spokesman for BP said on Tuesday: 'Giulia Chierchia ... is stepping back from her role from 1 June 2025 and is leaving BP to pursue other opportunities, and she will not be replaced.'
This month the company faced a shareholder revolt at its AGM when 24pc of investors voted to sack chairman Helge Lund with immediate effect, even though he had already announced that he will step down in a year's time.
Mr Lund, along with Mr Looney, had led the company's ill-fated 2020 attempts to shift to green energy and then oversaw the reversal of that policy in February.
BP's latest results will pile pressure on its chief executive, Murray Auchincloss, who has agreed to cut back on investment in green energy and refocus on oil and gas.
Mr Auchincloss said: 'In February, we announced a fundamental reset of our strategy – to grow the upstream, focus the downstream and invest with discipline in the transition – and we have already made significant progress.
'So far this year we have started up three major projects, made six exploration discoveries and have progressed our divestment programme – all while delivering strong operational performance.
'I'm confident that our plans to strengthen the balance sheet, reduce costs and improve cash flow and returns will grow long-term shareholder value.'
Ashley Kelty, an analyst at Panmure Liberum, said there was little sign of BP being able to reverse its profits slump.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'The concern is the big rise in net debt that jumped by over a third since the end of 2023 along with lower free cash generation from lower oil prices.
'It's going to be very hard to get that down. The share buybacks look like they're only going to be $3bn this year, which is a fraction of the $7bn they paid out last year, but at least they did keep the dividend held at eight cents a share.
'They need to really ditch the low margin renewables business. They're just clearly not very good at it. It doesn't generate the same returns that oil and gas want. I think investors want them to focus on what they're good at, which is oil and gas.'
Mr Kelty pointed out that the subsidies that have supported green industries of the kind backed by BP were likely to shrink.
He added: 'The problem is, renewable subsidies are going to be cut with the large push to rearm across Europe. It's going to be bombs over wind farms, I think, for a few years. So the returns for renewables are going to be under pressure. But for oil and gas, there is still high returns.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Daily Mail
A plan to build a McDonald's in this beachside town received 1,500 objections... locals are fuming over the final decision
The residents of a small beachside suburb are devastated after losing a six-year fight against a McDonald's being built in their community. A BP service station in the community of Safety Beach, located on the Mornington Peninsula's southeast coast, is set to undergo an upgrade. The new pit stop will include a 24-hour convenience store and drive-through fast food restaurant. Despite being twice rejected by Mornington Peninsula Shire Council and receiving 1,500 objections from the community, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal approved the construction this month. Applications for the building began in 2019. While the tenant for the available drive-through restaurant hasn't been confirmed, it is believed the site will become a McDonald's. The news has been met with fury by locals who believe the location of the soon-to-be McDonald's will cause significant traffic and litter problems. Safety Beach BP sits just 100m across from its famous beach, which is visited by thousands of tourists every year. Mayor Anthony Marsh said BP's upgrade, pushed by site owner AA Holdings, was a 'step too far'. 'It's a bit quiet now in mid-July, but if you were to come back in five months you'd find cars banked up for hundreds of metres on some days,' Marsh told Nine News. 'We're 100m from the beach so litter is a massive problem, particularly in a place like the Peninsula where we love our beach and our nature.' He added the introduction of a fast food chain would steal money from the pockets of small business owners. 'We've got a lot of traders that rely on that summer trade to survive the whole 12 months,' Marsh said. AA Holdings owns more than 50 BP outlets across Melbourne and generated $864million in revenue in 2024. Andrew Robertson, a member of the Safety Beach Foreshore Landscape Committee, believed AA Holdings' money is what saw the application finally approved. 'They're just determined to push it through, and they've obviously spent a load of money on getting through to appeal,' he told The Age. The disgruntled resident added the 'simple seaside community' didn't need a fast food chain. 'It's an established residential area that doesn't need this facility,' Mr Robertson said. 'In our view, it's not going to service us. There's plenty of things available to the residents in the [nearby] Dromana township.' VCAT senior member Geoffrey Code and member Kate Partenio found AA Holdings had sufficiently addressed concerns about traffic and parking. It also implemented a condition requiring AA Holdings to conduct daily litter patrols.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
BP's scramble to rally big investors behind new chief
Amanda Blanc embarked on an intense charm offensive among top BP shareholders last week to convince them that the choice of low-profile building materials executive Albert Manifold as chairman made sense. There had been an expectation in the City that a thorough recruitment process – conducted by the no-nonsense Aviva chief executive – who is BP's senior independent director and who led the search – might yield a more prominent chairman with wider knowledge of the energy industry. BP was stung by early criticism of Manifold by City brokers Panmure Gordon, who accused the oil giant's board of a 'panic appointment'. The energy giant also found it necessary to repudiate derogatory comments made by an unnamed 'bitter and twisted' losing candidate for the post. Working from Aviva's Canadian headquarters in the last few days, Blanc spoke to all of BP's leading UK and American investors and has seemingly managed to turn the tide of opinion. Most now are reportedly positive about the BP board's final choice. But there was some disappointment at the oil giant's headquarters about the lack of a rise in the share price following the announcement, as well as at some of the negative briefing in the Square Mile. Blanc is said to have convinced leading investors that the naysayers who challenged the choice of Manifold 'lacked credibility'. In selling the selection to the City, BP and its advisers have pointed to Manifold's stellar, under-the-radar performance at CRH, where he drove the value of the group's shares up 342 per cent during a ten-year tenure. The share price performance of CRH, which moved its listing to New York two years ago, is described by BP insiders as 'magnificent'. Blanc is also understood to have pointed to Manifold's considerable experience in making deals, and his knowledge of a building materials industry that has come under close scrutiny from regulators. Despite claims about the new chairman's modest Irish-based lifestyle, it has been noted that he became one of the best rewarded executives in the British Isles, amassing some £54 million of stock options between 2020 and 2024. But while Manifold has a reputation for successfully managing bids and deals, chairing the oil giant is regarded very differently. Being BP chairman requires great diplomatic skills given that its operations include sensitive territories such as Iraq. He will also have to contend with the battle being waged by chief executive Murray Auchincloss to refocus the company on oil production after a disastrous effort under his predecessor Bernard Looney to transmogrify the company into a green energy pioneer. Nevertheless, BP insists that the job of chairman is to lead the board and hold the management to account. 'It is not to be the deep technical expert,' one person involved in the search noted. Being an industry expert is also no guarantee of success. Manifold's predecessor, Helge Lund, a Norwegian veteran of the oil sector, quit due to mounting investor pressure and criticism of his performance in the role. An adviser to BP's rival Shell expressed surprise that the selection panel overlooked its newest non-executive director, Simon Henry, who was appointed to the board earlier this month. Henry is a former finance director of Shell and has been influential on the board of mining giant Rio Tinto. BP's response is to argue that in bringing both Henry and Manifold aboard, the group 'had the best of both worlds'. Manifold's first task will be to keep notorious activist investor Elliott Investment Management onside. It welcomed his appointment and wanted to see him 'urgently' address the company's 'shortcomings'. But other leading American holders of BP shares have recognised that turning the tanker around will take time, and believe that the newish team deserve at least eight quarters, or two years, of grace to show that things are on the mend. The big question is whether Manifold will be able to withstand the pressure on BP to cut back spending on new oil and gas facilities while providing better returns to shareholders. He has experience in this area, having previously faced down activists at CRH. There has been some concern about the length of the process to appoint the chairman. Blanc insisted on a thorough process using head-hunters, a long-list and short-list, and bringing the board along with her. But the drawn-out procedure allowed speculation to build of a takeover approach by Shell. Fortunately for BP's top team, Shell denied any early-stage talks and took itself out of the picture for at least six months. Outside observers were not the only ones surprised by the choice of Manifold, with many BP insiders having no knowledge of his background. In a bid to bolster his credentials, he has in the past few days made a point of touring the oil giant's offices in St James's Square in central London and holding a series of one-to-one meetings with executives and colleagues. But only time will tell if the former building materials boss can cement his legacy at BP.
Glasgow Times
3 days ago
- Glasgow Times
Judge us by impact of new online safety measures for children, says regulator
Peter Kyle said he had 'high expectations' for the changes, as the head of the regulator in charge of enforcement against social media platforms which do not comply urged the public to 'judge us by the impact we secure'. While some campaigners have welcomed the new protections – which include age checks to prevent children accessing pornography and other harmful content – others have branded them a 'sticking plaster'. Charities and other organisations working in the sector of children's safety have agreed the key will be ensuring the measures are enforced, urging Ofcom to 'show its teeth'. The changes also require platforms to ensure algorithms do not work to harm children by, for example, pushing such content on the likes of self harm and eating disorders towards them. Actions which could be taken against firms which fail to adhere to the new codes include fines of up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater, and court orders potentially blocking access in the UK. Mr Kyle has said a generation of children will not be allowed to grow up 'at the mercy of toxic algorithms' as he pledged the Government is laying the foundations for a safer, healthier, more humane online world and warned tech firms 'will be held to account' if they fail to act in line with the changes. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said the Government had drawn a line on online protection for children (Stefan Rousseau/PA) He told Sky News: 'I have very high expectations of the change that children will experience. 'And let me just say this to parents and children, you will experience a different internet really, for the first time in from today, moving forward than you've had in the past. And that is a big step forward.' The measures, as part of the Online Safety Act and set to be enforced by regulator Ofcom, require online platforms to have age checks – using facial age estimation or credit card checks – if they host pornography or other harmful content such as self-harm, suicide or eating disorders. Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes said the regulator's research had shown half a million eight to 14-year-olds have come across pornography online in the last month alone. When it was put to her by the BBC that one of their staff members testing out the new measures had been able to sign up to a well-known porn site on Friday using just an email address, she said sites will be 'checking patterns of email use' behind the scenes to verify users are adults. She told Radio 4's Today programme: 'We've shown that we've got teeth and that we're prepared to use them at Ofcom. And we have secured commitments across the porn industry and from the likes of X that no other country has secured. These things can work. 'Judge us by the impact we secure. And absolutely, please do tell us if you think there's something we need to know about that isn't working because the law is very clear now.' She also said the Government is right to be considering limits on the amount of time children can spend on social media apps. Earlier this week, Mr Kyle said he wanted to tackle 'compulsive behaviour' and ministers are reportedly considering a two-hour limit, with curfews also under discussion. Dame Melanie told LBC: 'I think the Government is right to be opening up this question. I think we're all a bit addicted to our phones, adults and children, obviously particularly a concern for young people. So, I think it's a good thing to be moving on to.' Children's charities the NSPCC and Barnardo's are among those who have welcomed the new checks in place from Friday, as well as the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF). The IWF warned the 'safeguards put in place need to be robust and meaningful' and said there is 'still more to be done', as they urged tech platforms to to build in safeguards rather than having them as 'an afterthought'. Fourteen-year-old Molly Russell's father founded a campaigning organisation in her name (Family handout/PA) The Molly Rose Foundation – set up by bereaved father Ian Russell after his 14-year-old daughter Molly took her own life having viewed harmful content on social media – said there is a 'lack of ambition and accountability' in the measures, and accused the regulator of choosing to 'prioritise the business needs of big tech over children's safety'. Andy Burrows, chief executive of the foundation, told Sky News: 'We've always had a very simple test for the Online Safety Act, will it stop further young people like Molly from dying because of the harmful design of social media platforms? 'And regrettably, we just don't think it passes that test. This is a sticking plaster, not the comprehensive solution that we really need.' Ofcom said it has also launched a monitoring and impact programme focused on some of the platforms where children spend most time including social media sites Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, gaming site Roblox and video clip website YouTube. The sites are among those which have been asked to submit, by August 7, a review of their efforts to assess risks to children and, by September 30, scrutiny of the practical actions they are taking to keep children safe.
