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April 4, 2025

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The chairman of BP, Helge Lund, is set to step down, marking the end of an era defined by the company’s ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful foray into green energy.

The oil giant announced on Friday that Lund would be relinquishing his role “in due course.”

The announcement comes amid mounting pressure from Elliott Advisors, a US activist hedge fund, which has been pushing for significant changes within the company.

BP has already scaled back its previously adopted green energy plans, championed by Lund himself.

Lund, a Norwegian businessman, threw his weight behind BP’s 2020 decision to slash fossil fuel production by 40% by 2030 and transform into an “integrated energy company” with a strong focus on low-carbon energy sources.

He also oversaw the appointment of Bernard Looney as chief executive in 2020.

Looney spearheaded the company’s low-carbon strategy but subsequently departed due to undeclared relationships with junior staff, adding to the turmoil within BP.

“Having fundamentally reset our strategy, BP’s focus now is on delivering the strategy at pace, improving performance and growing shareholder value,” Lund stated on Friday.

Now is the right time to start the process to find my successor and enable an orderly and seamless handover.

Activist pressure: Elliott pushes for a return to oil

The resignation follows intense pressure from Elliott Advisors, which has amassed a 5% stake in BP.

The hedge fund has expressed dissatisfaction with the oil major’s strategy, arguing that it lacked urgency and ambition.

Elliott was reportedly preparing a shareholder vote to oust Lund.

BP initially announced its intentions to move away from oil and gas in 2020, proposing a tenfold increase in green energy investment and a 40% reduction in fossil fuel production by 2030, while ceasing exploration in new companies.

At the time, Lund asserted, “We are confident that the decisions we have taken and the strategy we are setting out today are right for BP, for our shareholders, and for wider society.”

However, BP’s competitors, who maintained their focus on rising oil demand, outperformed the company. As a result, BP shares underperformed, prompting the company to abandon significant portions of its 2020 strategy.

At a capital markets day in February, BP reversed course on many of its green pledges and committed to indefinite annual increases in fossil fuel production, signaling a clear shift back towards its core business.

What’s next for BP?

Ashley Kelty, an oil and gas analyst at Panmure Liberum, commented, “This is of little surprise after activist investor Elliott has build a large position in BP and started agitating for change. [Elliot was] gearing up to try to get a shareholder vote to get Lund forced out so he appears to be jumping before he’s pushed.”

Kelty predicts further action from Elliott, suggesting that the hedge fund “will now turn attention to CEO Murray Auchinloss – his attempt to pivot BP away from green energy look half hearted and we suppose that Elliott will want a new CEO that can undertake a proper reset on strategy.”

The succession process is being spearheaded by Dame Amanda Blanc, Aviva chief executive, in her capacity as BP’s senior independent director.

According to The Telegraph, a BP spokesman indicated that the successful candidate will join the board and collaborate with Lund to ensure a smooth transition before he steps down, most likely during 2026.

“The board and I are committed to supporting Murray and his team, and to overseeing BP’s delivery of its strategic and financial objectives as we set out in our recent capital markets update,” Lund emphasized.

Dame Amanda added, “We are starting a comprehensive search to identify chair candidates with the credibility and relevant experience to lead the board and continue driving management’s safe execution of the reset strategy.”

The post BP chairman Helge Lund out as green energy strategy collapses appeared first on Invezz

Galan Lithium (ASX:GLN) has rejected a US$150 million (AU$240 million) cash bid from China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co and France’s Renault Group to acquire its Hombre Muerto West and Candelas lithium brine projects in Argentina, The West Australian reports.

Described as unsolicited, conditional, and non-binding, the offer from battery materials giant Zhejiang Huayou and EV manufacturer Renault was deemed “opportunistic” and “undervalued,” the report noted.

Galan and its advisors refused the offer, asserting confidence in the long-term value of its flagship Hombre Muerto West project, which is nearing production of 5,400 tonnes per annum (tpa) of lithium carbonate equivalent. They believe the project holds greater potential to deliver superior returns for shareholders.

Read the full study here.

Click here to connect with Galan Lithium (ASX:GLN) for an Investor Presentation

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Senate Republicans cleared the way on Thursday for an eventual vote on the latest version of a budget to push through several key agenda items for President Trump, including the southern border and extending his 2017 tax cuts. 

A motion to proceed was agreed to in the upper chamber just one day after Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham unveiled the Senate’s amendment to the House’s budget plan. 

The Senate agreed to the motion by a vote of 52 to 48, along party lines. The only exception was Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who voted against it. Paul has criticized the budget framework’s provision on the debt ceiling. 

The changes made by the Senate include raising the debt ceiling by up to $5 trillion and making Trump’s tax cuts permanent by using what’s known as a current policy baseline, as determined by the chairman. 

The Thursday motion kicks off roughly a day’s worth of debate, before a ‘vote-a-rama’ begins. The marathon amendment votes are expected to take place at some point on Friday afternoon or evening after debate concludes. 

During a vote-a-rama, senators are able to introduce an unlimited number of amendments, and many are expected to get floor votes. 

After the amended budget resolution passes in the Senate, which it is expected to do at some point on Saturday, the House will need to take it up again. 

This is a significant step forward for Republicans in their quest to get Trump’s priorities done through the budget reconciliation process. This key budget process lowers the vote threshold in the Senate from 60 to 51, allowing the GOP to pass things without support from their Democrat counterparts. Reconciliation is considered a key tool for the Republican trifecta in Washington to get Trump’s policies passed. 

Early on, Republicans in the House and Senate were split on how to organize the key resolution. House Republican leaders largely preferred doing one reconciliation bill that addressed both the border and tax cuts, while Senate Republicans wanted to separate the issues into two bills. 

Republicans in the lower chamber made it clear they would only accept one reconciliation bill that included border funding and tax cut extensions, as they have less room for dissent in their slim majority. 

Each chamber passed their preferred resolution, but Trump’s support for one bill on multiple occasions put the House’s strategy over the top. Senate Republicans themselves even described their resolution as a backup plan to the House’s. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS