BP brings in hiring freeze and halts new offshore wind plans

The head of BP has imposed a hiring freeze and halted new offshore wind projects in an apparent attempt to placate investors unhappy with the oil company's green targets.

- Julia Kollewe

Murray Auchincloss, BP's former finance chief, took up the role of CEO in January after the shock departure of his predecessor, Bernard Looney, with a promise to focus on delivering value for shareholders.

Looney, who had committed BP to some of the industry's greenest climate goals, was ousted last September for failing to disclose relationships with colleagues.

The decision to slow BP's green ambitions has stoked concern that Looney's plan to move it away from fossil fuels, with a pledge to "become a net zero company by 2050 or sooner", may soon be derailed.

BP has come under pressure from shareholders over its green targets because some renewable projects have proved more costly than expected, and profits from oil and gas have soared after Russia's invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago.

In response, the company set out plans earlier this year to cut oil and gas production by just 25% between 2019 and 2030 - well short of its previous target of a 40% reduction over the same timeframe.