BP Retreats On Low Carbon Vow As Its Profit Skyrockets

British Petroleum (BP) is retreating on its targets for moving to low-carbon energy production, perhaps motivated by its record profit from oil-and-gas sales, Adam Clark and Brian Swint reported for Barron’s Daily.

Photo Insert: BP is now targeting a reduction in fossil-fuel production in 2030 of 25% from 2019 levels.

BP is now targeting a reduction in fossil-fuel production in 2030 of 25% from 2019 levels. That compares with a previous target of a 40% reduction. The company joined peers in reporting record profits from its oil and gas sales in 2022, reporting $27.7 billion for the full year.

Its British rival Shell last week reported a record annual profit of $40 billion.

Oil prices were rising Tuesday on supply concerns over the effects of the earthquake in Turkey, which has killed more than 5,000 people in the country and in northern Syria. Turkey’s oil-export terminal at Ceyhan, with a capacity of one million barrels a day, is temporarily closed.

While all oil-and-gas majors gained significantly from the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, stocks of US companies Exxon and Chevron did better than their British competitors.

That has stoked speculation of a trans-Atlantic megamerger and is likely to pressure BP and Shell to make further changes to their green-energy strategies.

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