Honeymoon period for new BP boss won’t last long
The clearing of the decks continues apace at BP,The last chief executive, Murray Auchincloss, got the heave-ho in December,Last month brought news of hefty write-downs on the troublesome low-carbon energy assets in solar and biogas,Now comes an admission that the current debt-reduction measures aren’t enough to ease the strain on an over-extended balance sheet,Share buy-backs are being suspended.
Buy-backs have become the essential symbol of financial virility in today’s oil industry,At the right price, they represent an efficient use of excess capital and are a way for managements to send obligatory signals about “financial discipline”, meaning refraining from empire-building adventures,Thus it was significant that Shell last week sustained its 17th consecutive quarter of at least $3bn of buy-backs, allowing debt to rise even as profits fell,The company was saying it can handle, for now, a spell of lower oil and gas prices,At BP, by contrast, buy-backs are already deemed an unaffordable luxury.
The decision is probably sensible in the short-term for three reasons,First, BP’s balance sheet, measured by financial gearing, is the weakest among the big oil majors,Debt, on the most generous metric, is $22bn,So best to save $6bn a year by “fully allocating” excess cash to the reduction effort,It is simpler than waiting for receipts from disposals, notably the 65% share of Castrol, to arrive.
Second, there is little relief in sight from markets: annual profits for 2025 were $7.5bn, down from $9bn, reflecting a 20% drop in the price of oil.Third, the new chief executive, Meg O’Neill, will arrive in April, so let her start with a free hand.The market didn’t like the decision – especially the refusal to commit to restarting buy-backs once debt is within the target range of $14bn to $18bn – but it cannot be surprised.Shares fell 6%.
But it does all add to the mystery over what the reign of O’Neill and new-ish chair, Albert Manifold, will bring.The only certainty is more oil and gas projects.BP started seven in the past year and has its large Bumerangue discovery 250 miles off the coast of Brazil in the wings.So it is conceivable that BP, having signalled chunky cuts in fossil fuel production during the green-tinged era of Bernard Looney, will veer to the opposite extreme of keeping output at roughly the current level of 2.3bn barrels a day all the way until 2035.
The talk now is about the “deep hopper of oil and gas opportunities”.One constituency of shareholders – those who hated the dabbling in renewables and thought BP should stick to what it knows – will applaud the new direction.But one suspects even they will want clarity sharp-ish from O’Neill on what else follows.If BP is now all-in on oil and gas, is there any point in keeping a rump interest in solar and biogas? Could those assets be sold? And perhaps the electric vehicle charging assets and the global chain of petrol stations could be added to the mix, which might create a bigger and cleaner parcel for a demerger.Most of all, though, investors will want to know what’s coming their way in terms of cash, after the churn of capital expenditure, cost-cutting and disposals.
It’s one thing to “retire” – as BP did on Tuesday – guidance that 30-40% of operating cashflow will go to shareholders in the form of dividends or share buy-backs.But something has to be put in its place.How low does debt have to go before the balance sheet is judged safe? What oil price is required to allow share purchases to resume? BP shareholders, whatever strategic camp they’re in, love the hard clarity of dividends and buy-backs.O’Neill’s honeymoon period won’t last long.
Super Bowl: Bad Bunny, the ads and everything but the football – as it happened
Well, I could not tell you a thing about that game – I’ve heard that it was a boring outcome for a boring match-up – but it does not matter: the real winner tonight was Bad Bunny, who delivered a raucous, intricate and wildly ambitious half-time show that exceeded already sky-high expectations. With the world watching and many in the US government actively rooting against him (you can guess who took to Truth Social already), the Puerto Rican artist born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio thoroughly stomped on the haters with an exuberant 13-minute show that both honored his roots and championed an expansive view of American unity.It’s hard to overstate how much pressure Bad Bunny was under, as the first all Spanish-language half-time performer at a time when the US government is profiling Spanish speakers for its brutal immigration enforcement campaign. But Benito made the whole affair feel light as a feather, from the sugar cane fields to the bodegas to the rollicking casita party to a full-on real wedding (and surprise duet with Latino pop trailblazer Ricky Martin). Truly, this set was exquisite
Perth festival 2026: Swan River bursts to life with a stunning trail of stories and light
From dazzling light installations to unexpected conversations on pop-up phones, Perth festival has opened with a timely celebration of culture and communityGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailAs families gather for sunset at Perth’s Kings Park, a giant golden orb glows on the horizon, shooting ribbons of light into the night sky.“It looks like an upside down jellyfish!” a child shouts gleefully, gazing up at this mysterious beacon. Others watch from park benches or drift slowly around its base, as a gentle wash of sound spills from its centre. The work is called Karla Bidi, translating to “fire trail” in Noongar: a light and sound installation that draws on the ancient practice of lighting campfires along the Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River), which marks the opening of this year’s Perth festival.Featuring 11 installations stretching from Mandoon (Guildford) to Walyalup (Fremantle), Karla Bidi lights a path between communities along the river – a trail of gathering places that recalls how these banks have always been a place for story and connection
Porky Pig and Daffy Duck: ‘Jacob Elordi! That hair! Those dreamboat eyes!’
Ducks typically live between five and 10 years, and pigs 10 to 20. You first appeared on screen in 1935 and 1937, which makes you 91 and 89, respectively. What’s your secret to your eternally youthful looks?Daffy Duck: Firtht of all, it’s very rude to comment on a duck’s age. Thecond of all, thank you for noticing how youthful I look. My thecret is very thimple – moisturise daily, stay hydrated and tell the artist who draws you to take out any wrinkles
The Guide #229: How an indie movie distributed by a lone gamer broke the US box office
Two very unusual films were released last weekend. One you will have absolutely heard of: Melania, the soft-focus hagiocumentary of the US first lady, which was plonked into thousands and thousands of often entirely empty cinemas across the globe by Amazon and Jeff Bezos in what is widely perceived as a favour-currier to the White House. Melania’s $7m takings in the US were marginally better than forecasted (and far ahead of the risible numbers for the film elsewhere) but, given the documentary’s vast cost, still represents a dramatic loss (especially if the rumour that Amazon paid for the film to be in some cinemas is true). Then again, this was a rare multimillion dollar film where the primary marker of success was probably not financial.The other unusual film released last weekend you are less likely to have heard of, even though it dwarfed Melania’s takings
My cultural awakening: Bach helped me survive sexual abuse as a child
For pianist James Rhodes, the composer’s music expressed feelings that he could not put into words – and kept helping him as his mental health suffered in adulthoodWhen I found a cassette tape of the Bach-Busoni Chaconne, aged seven, it’s how I imagine a kid would feel seeing Messi play football and thinking: I have to do that with my life. By then, I had already been sexually abused by a teacher for two years, and despite showing all the signs of trauma – night terrors, twitching, wetting the bed, constant stomach aches – I obediently kept his secret. To me, the world was a war zone of pain. I was a shy, awkward, lonely kid, but alone in my bedroom with that piece of music, I found a little bit of light that was just for me. Hearing it for the first time was almost a religious experience
Austin Butler to play Lance Armstrong in big-screen biopic
The Oscar-nominated actor Austin Butler is scheduled to take on the role of the disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong in a buzzy new biopic.According to Deadline, the package has caused a “frenzied” bidding war in Hollywood with the Conclave director Edward Berger at the helm and King Richard’s Zach Baylin set to write the script.Producer Scott Stuber, who recently worked on Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, has been working to secure Armstrong’s life rights for a while and a deal has now finally been agreed. Armstrong will be involved in the film but will not have a producing credit.The hope is for the film to be a cross between F1 and The Wolf of Wall Street
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