BP defends hydrocarbon role in transition strategy

Emissions reductions targets should not be proxy for underinvestment in hydrocarbons, CEO tells analysts

BP has defended the role of hydrocarbons in the development of its business and said its transition strategy should not be characterised as a switch from oil to renewables. “This is not actually the case. We are building a renewables business to be part of an integrated value chain—this is not an oil-to-renewables story,” CEO Bernard Looney said on a third-quarter results call with analysts. Looney also stressed his belief that BP is better placed to finance investment in renewables as a single integrated company, with hydrocarbon assets generating cash. “When I look at some (pure-play) renewables companies, I see some of them struggling to fund their growth—that is not a problem we have,” h