Bernard’s employee note to launch bp week

Welcome to bp week!

Hello everyone

It’s only six weeks since we launched our new strategy – our transformation from an IOC to IEC delivering solutions for customers. And we are off to a flying start. Last week alone we announced three exciting partnerships:

With Equinor – to make our first move into offshore wind, and in a really big way alongside the leading company in the fastest-growing renewables sector.
With Uber – to help their UK drivers go electric with discounted access to our charging network.
With Aberdeen – to help the city decarbonize and meet its target to be net zero by 2045.

And just last month we started up Atlantis 3 in the Gulf of Mexico. It is exactly the type of project that fits our strategy to focus on resilient hydrocarbons – 36,000 barrels of high-quality, low-cost production in a basin we know. And delivered after 400,000 hours of development work with no injuries recorded – even more impressive as this was time worked offshore.

What is bp week?

Now we have another really big week ahead. Traditionally, this kind of event has been exclusively for the investor community. But for the first three days, we are opening our doors to anyone and everyone who is interested in presentations and dialogue about our strategy. We are being more inclusive and more transparent in an effort to help everyone better understand our strategy and why we are so confident we can deliver it. And it looks like we are going to be joined by over 13,000 of our stakeholders – from capital markets analysts to non-governmental organizations to interested members of the public.

Key questions

While the response to our new strategy has been generally positive, there are also questions people have raised. In order to build trust and confidence, we will address them as best we can. The five key ones are as follows:

Why is a 40% reduction in our oil and gas production by 2030 the right thing to do?
How will we transition our cashflow from hydrocarbons to low carbon over the next decade?
The scale of our renewables ambition is huge – how achievable is this?
Can we deliver the 8-10% returns from renewables?
Why bp – what is our competitive advantage?

Comprehensive answers

This week is about providing comprehensive answers to those questions and many others that will be raised. Today, we will showcase the thinking that has shaped the strategy and that guides our actions.

Energy Outlook – Spencer, our chief economist, will be talking about how his team’s work on this year's edition has informed our understanding about the pace of the energy transition and the likely pathways it may take, from business as usual, which we don’t want, to a rapid transition to net zero, which we do.
Reimagining energy – Giulia is going to introduce our new sustainability frame. This forms the guiderails within which we are going to reimagine energy, so we do that for the good of our planet, and in a way that improves people’s lives.
Reinventing bp – Kerry is going to talk about how we are evolving how we work - so that we best support you and unlock all your amazing potential.

Tomorrow and Wednesday are all about delivery. Dev, Carol, William, Emma, Gordon and David will all be talking about the parts of the strategy they are responsible for – our three core areas of focus and our three key areas of integration. And Murray will be talking about the new financial frame that underpins the strategy as a whole.

I urge you to tune in to as much as you can or watch the recorded presentations later on. Again, in an effort to be as transparent as possible, we are making all the presentation materials available on bp.com.

Why bp?

We have everything in place now. We have our purpose. We have our net zero ambition and aims. And we have our strategy. From now on, it is all about delivery – turning the excitement of the past several months into execution.

The most important reason I am confident is not something you can put on a spreadsheet, but that matters more than anything else. It is the deep determination I feel inside bp to make a difference. We will deliver this strategy and we will do it together.

I look forward to hearing your feedback.

Thanks for all that you continue to do.