BP

Just days before Venezuela’s presidential election on July 28th, BP signed a long-term gas deal with the Venezuelan government headed by autocrat Nicolas Maduro, locking in access to the planet-warming resource regardless of the electoral outcome.

BP is to acquire Shell’s 27% stake in the offshore Browse gas project, reigniting divisions in Australia’s gas sector.

An Iraqi boy who lived in close proximity to BP’s oil operations in Iraq featured in a 2022 BBC documentary. He died from leukemia on April 21 and his father confronted BP at its shareholder meeting.

BP saw record Q2 earnings on the back of high oil and gas prices but like its peers much of the surplus will go to share buybacks or dividends, with little extra ear-marked for energy transition projects or new oil and gas output.