BP Plc BP
BP's 2020 energy-transition strategy is collapsing in serial U-turns and missed targets; removing Chairman Helge Lund and Lead Independent Director Amanda Blanc is essential to restore accountability.
Thesis
Bluebell Capital Partners, in escalating dialogue with BP's Board since May 2024, argues BP's 2020 energy-transition strategy has unravelled into serial U-turns — the Equinor offshore-wind JV was dismantled, new offshore wind halted, US onshore wind put up for sale, renewables head Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath departed within two years, and Lightsource solar projects were ruled unlawful by the Tribunal. The 2025 EBITDA guidance of $46-49bn has been quietly downgraded by roughly 12% via opaque changes in macro assumptions (HSBC estimates c.$40-43bn). Under CEOs Bernard Looney and Murray Auchincloss, BP's 2024 EPS consensus has fallen 24% while Chevron, Shell, Total and Exxon rose 19-51%, and BP's €TSR since Looney's appointment is 10% versus 55-128% for peers. Bluebell demands the immediate removal of Chairman Helge Lund and Lead Independent Director Amanda Blanc, and an updated strategic plan at the Q3 results rather than waiting for February 2025.
SCQA
BP is a UK-listed oil major that in August 2020 unveiled a radical pivot from integrated oil company to integrated energy company, built around 50GW renewables, 2025 EBITDA of $46-49bn and a 2030 EBITDA target of $53-58bn.
The strategy has collapsed into serial U-turns — offshore-wind JV dismantled, renewables head Dotzenrath out within 24 months, Lightsource projects ruled unlawful, and the 2025 EBITDA target quietly cut ~12% via opaque macro-assumption changes.
Remove Chairman Helge Lund and Lead Independent Director Amanda Blanc, and force management to publish an updated strategic plan at Q3 2024 results rather than waiting until February 2025.
BP's €TSR since CEO Looney's appointment is only 10% versus 55-128% for Shell, Chevron, Total and Exxon; closing that peer gap is the prize from restored governance and a credible strategy.
The three reasons
- 1
Renewables strategy is serial U-turns: Equinor JV dismantled, Dotzenrath out, onshore wind sold
- 2
2025 EBITDA guidance of $46-49bn implicitly cut ~12% to c.$40-43bn via opaque assumptions
- 3
BP €TSR 10% under Looney vs 55-128% for Shell, Chevron, Total, Exxon
Primary demands
- Remove Chairman Helge Lund from the Board
- Remove Lead Independent Director Dame Amanda Blanc
- Publish an updated strategic plan at Q3 2024 results rather than waiting until February 2025
- Provide a transparent bridge explaining the changes to 2025 EBITDA macro assumptions
- Explain Lightsource BP's plans to build solar farms above the 50MW approval threshold
KPIs cited
Pattern membership
Composition what's on the 9 slides
Slide gallery ·
Notes
Open letter co-signed by Giuseppe Bivona and Marco Taricco (Bluebell Partners/CIOs); CC: Nicolas Ceron. Follow-up to a prior 23 July 2024 letter — Bluebell had been in ongoing dialogue since May 2024. Core rhetorical move: a numbered catalogue of seven U-turns on BP's 2020 renewables strategy, capped by the Q2 2024 implicit guidance cut. Uses direct quotes from BP press releases (Dotzenrath hire, Equinor JV) and BP's own Code of Ethics to expose broken promises, and embeds an HSBC 8-Aug-2024 research extract as third-party validation of the ~12% implicit EBITDA downgrade. Raises legal angle around the Tribunal-ruled 'unlawful' Burnhope solar farm and Lightsource's apparent attempt to circumvent the 50MW planning threshold via lobbying. Peer TSR and EPS-change bar charts are the visual centerpiece, with pale-blue BP bar isolated against dark-blue peers — classic peer-shaming viz. No stake size or target price disclosed.