BP PLC (LSE:BP.) and activist investor Elliott Management are preparing for a potential battle at the annual shareholder meeting next month, both using newspapers to put their side across over the weekend.
A source close to the US hedge fund has told the Mail on Sunday that Elliott is unhappy with the strategy "reset" that the oil giant presented to investors at the end of last month.
Elliott wants BP to go further and sell its petrol stations business and focus on selling down more debt.
Elliott, which has built up a £3.5 billion stake in the company, was reported to be preparing a "battle plan" ahead of the annual shareholder meeting on 17 April, and is expected to write a letter laying out its demands ahead of the AGM.
However, writing in the Times, BP CEO Murray Auchincloss insists that his move to increase fossil fuel production and de-prioritise green energy targets is "resonating" with investors.
He wrote that he has held many conversations with shareholders and "most of the questions to me are about how quickly we can deliver".
Analysts at AJ Bell said that while the company has abandoned plans to reduce oil and gas production and investments in green projects, its targeted reduction in borrowings "would still leave it more indebted than many of its peers" and a fall in the shares since the strategy reset "suggests the market was underwhelmed".
Elliott is thought likely to want to push for the replacement of BP chair Helge Lund, who signed off on the energy transition plan under previous CEO Bernard Looney.
"BP will be sitting uneasily in case it gets an aggressive letter from Elliott in the post ahead of the AGM in mid-April. The meeting itself will be a test of the current management’s ability to resist outside pressure and pursue its own course," the AJ Bell analysts said.
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