Shell has denied it. No plans to buy BP. No talks. Nothing to see.
Still, when your biggest domestic rival has to publicly insist it’s not trying to take you over, the market smells blood.
BP’s weakened state has long been a talking point: a failed green pivot, poor returns and a chief executive exit (Kerryman Bernard Looney) under a cloud.
In February, Murray Auchincloss, the ex-chief financial officer who is now in charge, promised a reset. Back to oil and gas, back to what BP knows.
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However, if Looney’s green pivot angered shareholders, Auchincloss’s pivot back hasn’t soothed them either, with shares down almost 20 per cent since February’s peak.
Its renewables unit may be too big to sell, and its best assets – Gulf of Mexico oil, US shale, LNG – are also the ones Auchincloss doesn’t want to lose.
The problem is if oil prices drift lower and earnings disappoint again, Auchincloss may lose control of what gets sold.
BP trades below the value of its parts, and investor patience at BP’s current price may be running dangerously thin
