BP leadership faces shareholder vote amid Elliott campaign, climate ire

By Shadia Nasralla

SUNBURY-ON-THAMES, England, April 17 (Reuters) - BP's BP.L board is up for re-election at its annual general meeting on Thursday as the group faces activist shareholder Elliott Management and climate-focused investors who have called for a vote against Chair Helge Lund.

BP, whose stock has been underperforming rivals such as Shell SHEL.L and Exxon XOM.N, has come under increased pressure to boost its share price after U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management built up a nearly 5% stake in recent months.

CEO Murray Auchincloss and Lund supported previous chief Bernard Looney's 2020 plan to slash BP's oil and gas output by 40% this decade and invest heavily in renewables. A few months later BP started backtracking.

In a bid to regain investor confidence, Auchincloss, who was finance chief under Looney, in February announced BP would completely abandon the plan and renew its focus on oil and gas.

"The company pursued too much while looking to build new low carbon businesses. And some existing businesses did not operate with the expected reliability and efficiency. I can assure you lessons have been learned from this," Lund told shareholders at Thursday's meeting.

Some climate-focused investors are unhappy that BP is not offering a vote on the strategy U-turn.

"Why aren't we voting on that level of (climate) ambition?", said Matt Crossman, stewardship director at UK asset management company Rathbones.

In addition, Legal & General LGEN.L, a top-10 BP shareholder according to LSEG data, has called for a vote against Lund, citing climate and governance concerns.

Lund said the board had been encouraged by the level of support in its engagement with shareholders and that it did not see a majority asking for a so-called Say on Climate vote.

Lund announced this month he would step down likely in 2026, but a poor turnout from his supporters at Thursday's meeting might expedite his exit. Board members need 50% of votes to be elected and typically achieve tallies near 100%.

Influential proxy advisors Institutional Shareholder Services Inc (ISS) and Glass Lewis have recommended that shareholders vote in favour of the re-election of BP's 12-member board.