The BP share price is moving sideways even as crude oil prices rally to the highest level in years. The stock is trading at 325p, where it has been in the past few weeks. It is up by more than 70% from its lowest level in 2020. It has outperformed Royal Dutch Shell but lagged other energy majors like Chevron and ExxonMobil.
BP to stick with oil. Like other oil and gas companies, BP has been under intense pressure from activists and institutional investors to slash their emissions. Just last month, a court in the Netherlands ruled against Shell and asked it to slash emissions by 2030. BP has also pledged to cut emissions by 40% in the next 9 years. In an interview with Reuters, the CEO said that the company will use the current higher prices to invest in clean energy. He said:
“There’s a very strong possibility that these prices will sustain over the coming years, and if they do, that’s very good for our strategy. We want to run the best hydrocarbons business possible. We don’t want to run the biggest hydrocarbons business possible.”
BP has already made some investments in clean energy. It invested $7 million in electric vehicle charging firm IoTecha. It has also invested in clean energy products like solar, wind, and charging stations. Still, it is too early to tell whether this transition will succeed because the company generates most of its income from oil and gas.
The daily chart shows that the BP share price has been on an upward trend recently. The stock has also formed an inverse head and shoulders pattern, which is a bullish sign. Notably, it has also moved above the 100-day and 50-day exponential moving averages.
The stock has also formed an ascending triangle pattern. Therefore, I suspect that the shares will soon break out, helped by higher oil prices and the potential for higher dividends. On the flip side, a drop below 300p will invalidate this trend.
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