In its note on BP’s poaching of Meg O’Neill to be its next chief executive, Lex observes that the “new broom at BP will have a great deal of sweeping to do” (December 19) and suggests that its global network of 21,000 petrol stations is largely untouched.
This is not wholly true; BP has disposed of more than half its European retail networks and most downstream operations in Africa and Asia since its 1970s peak, and the remaining chains are generally well positioned for their targeted convenience market.
Meanwhile in “Inside a failed green revolution” (The Big Read, December 11) you note that investors expect the pivot to renewable energy to be reversed, yet BP’s electric vehicle charging network (BP Pulse) is a market leader in many countries, including potential growth markets such as India through Jio-bp, its joint venture with Reliance Industries.
The logical answer would appear to be not to chip away by selling assets piecemeal (as with the recent sale of petrol stations in the Netherlands or its proposed sale of Castrol) but simply to split the company into two. The downstream part could take on fuel marketing, convenience, EV charging, lubricants and any remaining solar activities, separated from the oil and gas production.
Justified concerns over climate would fall mainly with the upstream half. However they are fuelled, it seems unlikely that private cars — and the need to refuel or recharge — are going to disappear soon.
This strategy has been suggested by activists in the past and successfully applied by US majors such as Sunoco and Marathon, but would benefit from the downstream arm maintaining a critical mass.
Ian Byrne
Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, UK
