BP profits drop as it says it will reset strategy

Oil giant BP has said it will “fundamentally reset” its strategy as profits dropped sharply last year.

It is widely expected to say later this month that it will scale back renewable projects and increase oil and gas production following similar moves from rivals including Shell and Equinor.

BP’s net income fell to $8.9bn (£7.2bn) in 2024, down from $13.8bn the previous year.

It said lower oil and gas prices, plus lower profits from its refineries, had dented how much money it had made.

Five years ago BP set a target of 50GW of renewables generation capacity by 2030.

That is expected to be abandoned on 26 February in a major change of strategy.

BP has already been scaling back on renewables.

In December it put the majority of its offshore wind assets into a joint venture with Japanese company Jera in an attempt to separate them from the company’s core fossil fuel business, and it froze new wind projects in June last year.

Activist shareholder Elliot Management has bought a stake in BP to push for more investment in oil and gas.

There is a clear link between emissions from fossil fuels and global warming.

But recently oil and gas firms have been making plans to ramp up production.

Last week Norwegian energy giant Equinor said it would halve investment in renewable energy over the next two years while increasing oil and gas production.

Chief executive Anders Opedal said that the transition to lower carbon energy was moving more slowly than expected, costs had increased, and customers were reluctant to commit to long-term contracts.

In December, Shell stepped back from new offshore wind investments.