BP under fire for oil sands

• Tweet

LONDON, March 29 (UPI) -- A group of shareholders from oil company BP called for an environmental and financial examination of the supermajor's focus on Canadian oil sands.

BP is examining a joint venture with Canada's Husky Energy to tap into oil sands in Canada, one of the last major oil companies to consider the resource.

A group of shareholders, however, called on the company to draft a report examining the potential impact on the company's reputation as well as financial and environmental risks of Canadian oil sands, the Financial Times reports.

BP pointed to reports by the International Energy Agency that said diversification was needed to meet the expected 40 percent rise in global energy demand by 2030.

The shareholders, however, said BP hasn't taken a close enough look at the risks in oil sand development.

"We are still concerned that BP is not examining its oil sands strategy against a range of scenarios," Lauren Compere with Boston Common Asset Management, a backer of the risk assessment, was quoted in the Financial Times as saying.