BP not eyeing return to renewables
BP isn’t likely to reverse its pivot away from renewable power generation anytime soon, CEO Meg O’Neill told Semafor.
BP's CEO Meg O'Neill is not planning for the company to return to the renewable power generation sector, according to Semafor. Since assuming the role in April, O'Neill has been concentrating on rectifying the company's financial situation. Her efforts bore fruit in the third quarter when BP's profits nearly quadrupled due to soaring oil and gas prices and a booming trading desk. This success enabled her to trim the company's debt by nearly 40%.
O'Neill has been proceeding with the spinoff of BP's renewable energy businesses, initiated under her predecessor, although the process has not been straightforward. Lightsource BP, the entity overseeing utility-scale solar, has been on the market for months. O'Neill acknowledged the complexity of this venture on the sidelines of ADIPEC, stating, "In terms of investing in low-carbon [energy], we need to do that only when we can generate shareholder returns."
As an illustration, she cited green hydrogen projects in Europe. Nevertheless, O'Neill cautioned that renewable power is not a strong suit of BP, saying, "There are people who can do utility-scale solar and make money at it. We're happy to let people who are experts in that do their thing, and we will stay focused on oil and gas."
Written by urgent.news from Semafor's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
