BP's Chairman Gets a Shareholder Rebuke as New CEO Races to Reshape the Company

BP's annual meeting saw weak support for new chairman and failed climate votes, as CEO Meg O'Neill accelerates a strategic shift back to fossil fuels and asset sales.

BP’s annual shareholder meeting on April 23 in London delivered a pointed message to the boardroom. Two special resolutions failed to secure the required three-quarters majority, each garnering just 47% support. One would have allowed purely virtual annual meetings; the other sought to scrap two company-specific climate reporting requirements. The outcome was a clear sign of investor unease with the current direction.

The vote for new chairman Albert Manifold was notably tepid. He secured 81.8% of the vote, a sharp drop from his predecessor’s 96% in 2024. For a chairman of a major British company, that is a weak endorsement. Behind the dissent were heavyweight proxy advisers Glass Lewis and ISS, along with asset manager Legal & General Investment Management, all urging shareholders to vote against management. Norway’s sovereign wealth fund NBIM, however, backed the board.

A Strategic Pivot Gathers Pace

The meeting marked the first for both Manifold and new CEO Meg O’Neill, who has already split BP into two divisions: one for exploration and production, the other for refining. The strategy is clear — a retreat from renewables and a renewed focus on oil and gas. The company is also accelerating asset sales, most notably the disposal of its Gelsenkirchen refinery to the Klesch Group, a move designed to strengthen the balance sheet and simplify the portfolio.

Management is targeting structural cost savings of up to $7.5 billion by 2027. The Gelsenkirchen sale alone is expected to cut operating expenses by billions, helping to lower the breakeven point in the refining division. The debt challenge, however, remains front and center. BP aims to reduce net debt to between $14 billion and $18 billion by the end of 2027, but expects it to rise to $25 billion to $27 billion in the current quarter.

Analysts Stay Bullish Despite Governance Noise

The market has largely shrugged off the governance turbulence. Barclays maintains its buy rating. RBC Capital has lifted its price target to 700 pence, while Scotiabank raised its target to $58. Of ten analysts covering the stock, seven recommend buying. The share price has rewarded that confidence. Since the start of the year, BP’s stock has climbed roughly 29%, outpacing Shell, ExxonMobil, and Chevron over the same period. Among the five largest oil majors, only TotalEnergies has performed better. The stock now trades well above its 200-day moving average and closed Friday at €6.54, just shy of its 52-week high.

Earnings Day Looms as a Critical Test

All eyes are now on April 28, when BP reports first-quarter results for 2026. The backdrop is favorable: Brent crude averaged above $81 a barrel during the quarter, significantly higher than the previous period, and US gas prices have also firmed. The report will be O’Neill’s first major test as CEO. Investors will be watching closely for new guidance on capital discipline and whether the costly pivot away from green energy was the right call. The climate group ACCR has described the shareholder vote as a clear signal that investors want better capital allocation. Whether the earnings numbers can soothe those concerns remains an open question.