Major asset owners raise concerns over capital allocation at BP AGM

The investor group, which includes Nest, the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, Wales Pension Partnership, London CIV, Swiss pension fund Publica, and the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), is calling on BP to demonstrate that its increased upstream investment is delivering value for shareholders.

Details of the resolution, to be filed at BP’s AGM this spring, were released just days before the company is due to report its 2025 results. The British energy major has faced pressure from investors after underperforming both its peers and the broader market over the past 15 years.

The resolution is the second to be filed ahead of BP’s AGM this year and signals a shift in shareholder engagement — from a focus on Paris alignment and emissions reduction toward scrutiny of the financial case for continued fossil fuel expansion.

In January, campaign group Follow This announced plans to file resolutions at the AGMs of Shell and BP questioning whether continued expansion of oil and gas businesses would create shareholder value.

Last year, BP announced a significant reset of its corporate strategy, increasing upstream investment by 17% while cutting planned spending on clean energy. The changes were unveiled after the deadline for filing shareholder resolutions had passed, leaving long-term asset owners with little opportunity to formally voice concerns.

Earlier this year, BP also announced write-downs of $4–5bn in its energy transition business, reducing the value of its solar investments after struggling to find a buyer. The company has spun off its wind energy business and cancelled hydrogen projects in the UK and Australia.

However, pension fund investors argue that the renewed focus on fossil fuels may not be prudent over the long term. Citing what they describe as unsuccessful engagement with the company, investors say BP has sanctioned around $22bn of conventional greenfield capital expenditure over the past six years. Research by ACCR suggests the estimated net present value of these projects is $0.9bn based on forward price assumptions.

ACCR also argues that new oil exploration projects announced by BP in 2025 — such as the $5bn Tiber project in the US — are significantly more costly than those of competitors.

The group contends that BP could generate greater value by focusing on production from existing assets rather than expanding exploration, estimating the company’s market value could be $11bn higher under a more concentrated business model.

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These concerns come amid rising oil production, particularly from non-OPEC countries such as the United States, Canada, Brazil and Guyana, contributing to lower global oil prices and fears of a potential supply glut.

“BP has underperformed for the past decade, including the period when it was prioritising oil and gas production. Now it has scaled back its renewables strategy, investors need reassurance that any expansion of its upstream oil and gas portfolio will be governed by robust capital discipline and generate sustainable returns,” said Diandra Soobiah, director of responsible investment at Nest.

Nick Mazan, UK lead for company strategy at ACCR, also raised concerns about the track record of BP’s new CEO, Meg O’Neill, who in her previous role leading Woodside oversaw a major expansion of fossil fuel production that triggered significant shareholder opposition.

While today’s resolution marks an escalation in ACCR’s engagement with BP, the organisation is already familiar to O’Neill. In 2024, a resolution co-filed by ACCR questioning Woodside’s climate transition strategy received nearly 60% shareholder support — an unusually high level for a climate-related proposal. In 2025, ACCR pushed for a vote against company directors after concluding that little progress had been made, a move that received 20% shareholder backing.

BP has not yet confirmed the date of its AGM, but it is expected to take place in April.

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Climate resolutions at Shell and BP shift the focus from Paris Alignment to shareholder value