In the summer of 2020, Fortune applauded oil giant BP for thinking “outside the barrel.” The company, which once had the word petroleum in its name and, at the time, was producing 1.1 million barrels of oil per day, had unveiled a plan “to move BP into clean energy and out of oil” as part of its goal of reaching “net zero” emissions by 2050.
“We believe the world needs a rapid and orderly energy transition,” then-CEO Bernard Looney said.
Those words are ancient history. At a shareholder meeting last month, BP’s new CEO, Murray Achincloss, sang a starkly different tune, promising to expand oil and gas investment by 20% and increase production to 2.5 million barrels per day.
“This is a reset BP, with an unwavering focus on growing long-term shareholder value,” Auchincloss told investors.
These are no doubt welcome words to BP shareholders, who have…
