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Interim BP chief defends strategy amid flurry of Big Oil deals

Murray Auchincloss says BP’s growth engines will be clean energy and not oil and gas

Murray Auchincloss, interim BP chief: “At $90 (€84) oil, I’m not sure it makes sense for us to pursue very many oil and gas transactions given the scale of our resource base.” Picture: Getty

BP’s temporary boss gave a robust defence of the company’s strategy, batting away suggestions that he needs to follow the big oil deals done by US competitors Exxon Mobil and Chevron.

“We’re focused really on transition” to net zero emissions, interim chief executive Murray Auchincloss said on Tuesday. BP’s growth engines will be clean energy “and not the oil and gas side.”

Speaking at his first earnings presentation since taking the top job after the ...