BP appoints Woodside's Meg O'Neill as CEO after Auchincloss' abrupt exit

Oil and state major BP said it had appointed Meg O'Neill, the caput of Australia's Woodside Energy, arsenic its CEO effectual April 1 aft an abrupt exit by Murray Auchincloss.

O'Neill volition become BP's archetypal CEO appointed from extracurricular the institution successful its much than century-long past and the archetypal pistillate to caput immoderate of the world's apical 5 lipid majors.

The 2nd CEO alteration successful conscionable implicit 2 years is simply a motion that the British lipid large is seeking a renewed propulsion to amended its concern aft its shares and net person for years lagged down competitors similar Exxon Mobil and Shell.

The institution embarked connected a major strategy shift earlier this year, slashing billions successful planned renewable vigor initiatives and shifting its absorption backmost to accepted lipid and gas.

"Progress has been made successful caller years, but accrued rigor and diligence are required to marque the indispensable transformative changes to maximise worth for our shareholders," said BP Chair Albert Manifold, who took connected his relation successful October, successful a statement.

O'Neill, an American from Boulder, Colorado, has headed Woodside since 2021 and antecedently spent 23 years astatine Exxon Mobil. Under her leadership, Woodside merged with BHP Group's petroleum limb to make a apical 10 planetary autarkic lipid and state shaper valued astatine $40 cardinal and doubled Woodside's lipid and state production.

"This is intelligibly a high-profile hire, and astir apt immoderate of the alteration that BP shareholders person been looking for," said Dan Pickering, main concern serviceman astatine Pickering Energy Partners.

BP's enforcement vice president, Carol Howle, volition service arsenic interim CEO until O'Neill assumes the position. Auchincloss volition depart the institution connected Thursday. The institution had not publically announced a hunt process for his successor earlier it flagged his departure precocious connected Wednesday evening.

Auchincloss became CEO successful 2024, taking implicit from Bernard Looney, who resigned for lying astir idiosyncratic relationships with colleagues.

After an ill-fated foray into renewables nether Looney, BP has vowed to summation profitability and chopped costs portion re-routing spending to absorption connected lipid and gas.

BP in August launched a reappraisal of however champion to make and monetise its lipid and state accumulation assets. When Manifold took up his post, helium called for a deeper reshaping of BP's portfolio to summation profitability.

Manifold faced unit from activistic capitalist Elliott Investment Management, 1 of BP's largest shareholders, which called successful July for him to urgently address the company's shortcomings and enactment successful spot "decisive and effectual leadership".

Woodside said successful a abstracted connection that O'Neill was leaving the Australian institution instantly and it had appointed executive Liz Westcott as acting CEO, portion intending to denote a imperishable assignment successful the archetypal 4th of 2026.