London, March 11, 2026, 13:10 GMT
BP shares rose in London on Wednesday, with Reuters market data showing the stock at 505.3, up 1.15% on a delayed basis, as Brent crude climbed back above $90 a barrel. The gain came with a complication: activist group Follow This said it would go to court unless BP circulated a climate disclosure proposal ahead of its April 23 shareholder meeting. 1
The move matters now because BP is heading into a sensitive handover. Meg O’Neill is due to take over in April after BP halted buybacks — company purchases of its own shares — in February to cut debt, leaving investors more focused on oil swings and on whether the group’s reset toward oil and gas can lift returns. 2
That bet is paying off only in part. Reuters reported on March 9 that crude had risen more than 40% since Feb. 28, while BP shares were up 7.8% over the same stretch, ahead of Shell’s 4.9% and Exxon’s 0.9% but still far behind the move in oil itself. 3
“The market is anticipating a swift end to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” James West, head of energy and power research at Melius Research, said. David Hewitt of Hewitt Energy Perspectives said the market had seen similar episodes before, when oil stocks stopped tracking crude once investors decided the shock would not last. 3
At the same time, BP is back in a governance fight. Follow This said investors managing about 1 trillion euros in assets backed a proposal asking BP to show how it would handle a long-term fall in oil and gas demand; BP said legal advice showed the proposal did not meet requirements and kept it out of the annual meeting notice. The group said it would seek injunctive relief within two days if BP did not comply. 4
The dispute lands as BP recasts its leadership. Chairman Albert Manifold said last week that a leaner board would allow “faster decision-making and sharper oversight”, and O’Neill will be BP’s first external chief executive in more than a century when she arrives in April. 5
But the bounce is fragile. Oil plunged more than 11% on Tuesday after President Donald Trump suggested the Middle East conflict could ease, and the International Energy Agency is considering a record 400 million-barrel release from strategic reserves, a reminder that BP’s near-term lift can evaporate if crude retreats again. 6
For now, BP is trading with oil prices and with the court calendar. Investors are watching whether Brent can hold above $90, whether Follow This follows through before the April 23 meeting, and how O’Neill balances debt reduction with shareholder returns after the buyback halt. 7
