BP postpones investor day after chief Murray Auchincloss has ‘medical procedure’ | USAEMALL.com

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BP has postponed an event for investors next month so that its chief executive Murray Auchincloss can recuperate from a “planned medical procedure”.

The FTSE 100 oil and gas giant said on Tuesday that Auchincloss was “recovering well” from the recent procedure, which was not previously disclosed.

It said it would delay its capital markets event from February 11 to February 26 and has also changed the location from New York to London. Auchincloss, 54, would be “back in the office by February”, BP added.

Auchincloss is expected to use the event to try to boost confidence in his strategy for the company following a series of disappointing financial results.

The former BP finance boss took over as chief executive last year after Bernard Looney resigned over his failure to disclose to the board the extent of past personal relationships with colleagues.

BP made the announcement alongside a trading statement ahead of its fourth-quarter results due on February 11. It said the results would be published on that date, as planned.

The company said it expected oil production in the final quarter of 2024 to be lower than in the previous quarter, while it also warned of “weaker” margins on its refining business.

Its gas marketing and trading results — closely watched by analysts — were expected to be “average” while oil trading performance was expected to be “weak” it added.

It comes after Shell earlier this month trimmed its gas production outlook for the fourth quarter and warned of “significantly lower” performance in its gas trading division. ExxonMobil has also signalled lower quarterly earnings.

Biraj Borkhataria, head of global energy transition research at RBC, said oil majors were facing a “more challenging” environment with the prospect of international trade tensions that could weaken demand.

But he added he expected oil majors to continue “tempering” their ambitions around investing in lower carbon energy.

Several majors including BP have diluted plans to move away from oil and gas, encouraged by high oil and gas prices during the energy crisis.

US president-elect Donald Trump has reduced the pressure on them to do so, coming to office with a mantra of “drill, baby, drill”.

“The shifting political landscape should further embolden the majors to focus on returns criteria, rather than put forward energy transition targets which triangulate to arbitrary and unrealistic scenarios,” Borkhataria added.