Elliott Management is widely expected to use its grip on the 120-year-old company to demand sweeping changes, including a potential break-up of the company, after BP lost almost a quarter of its market value in the past two years.
Under its former boss Bernard Looney, BP set a path in 2020 to become a net zero energy company by 2050, which included some of the greenest spending plans of any major oil company and won the approval of climate campaigners including Greenpeace.
Sources close to Elliott have reportedly warned that BP will be pushed to abandon its commitment to green energy by limiting its spending on renewables and selling off some of its low-carbon investments, according to the Financial Times, which first reported the size of the hedge fund’s stake.
The aggressive New York-based fund is also expected to insist on a boardroom cull to oust BP’s leadership, including the chair, Helge Lund, alongside a reset of the company’s strategy.
However, the company has backtracked from its green ambitions as surging global oil and gas market prices made fossil fuel production increasingly profitable, and handed an advantage to rivals including Shell and ExxonMobil, which plan to grow their production despite climate warnings.
