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BP CEO Bernard Looney resigned on Tuesday with immediate effect after less
than four years in the oil major’s top job for failing to fully disclose details of past personal relationships with colleagues, the company said.

Chief Financial Officer Murray Auchincloss will act as CEO on an interim
basis, the company said.

Looney, 53, became CEO in February 2020 with a vow to reinvent the 114- year-old company, laying out ambitious plans for the British energy giant
to achieve zero net emissions by 2050, and to invest billions in renewable
and low-carbon power.

Looney’s surprise resignation came after allegations of personal
relationships with company colleagues surfaced recently, prompting the
company to launch an investigation.

That followed similar allegations the board investigated in May 2022.
During that review, Looney disclosed “a small number of historical relationships with colleagues prior to becoming CEO.”

No breach of the company’s code of conduct was found at the time and the
board was given assurances by Looney “regarding disclosure of past
personal relationships, as well as his future behavior.”

Looney informed BP’s board on Tuesday that he did not fully disclose
details of all relationships, prompting his resignation.

BP shares ended up 1% before the FT earlier reported his resignation after trading closed in London. Its American depositary receipt shares turned negative and closed down 1.3% at $38.10 in New York.

Reinventing BP
Auchincloss 52, became CFO in July 2020 and has helped Looney steer the
company through some of the most tumultuous years in modern history, from COVID-19 to a rapid exit from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine
last year, an energy price shock, and a global cost of living crisis.

Auchincloss, a Canadian national, started his career as a financial
analyst in Amoco, before BP acquired the company in 1998. Since then he
has held several roles including CFO of BP’s North American Gas business.

Earlier this year, BP scaled back plans to cut hydrocarbon production by
2030, to 25% from 2019 levels from 40% previously – still the most radical reduction of oil and gas output this decade among major oil companies.

BP has struggled to convince investors it can realize competitive returns
from its non-hydrocarbon businesses.

Over the last three years, BP’s shares have underperformed those of
European rival Shell as well as US peers Chevron and Exxon Mobil.

After raking in a record profit of $28 billion for 2022, BP’s second-
quarter profit slumped 70% from a year earlier to $2.6 billion but still allowing the oil major to boost its dividend by 10%.

It remained unclear if Looney’s departure would lead to an change in
strategy.

“Depending on the new CEO, BP could theoretically roll back its transition plans further,” Morningstar analysts said in a note.

“But if the board likes the current direction, regardless of the lagging
stock price, they will likely bring in someone who keeps BP on the same
path.”

Looney’s 2022 pay packet more than doubled to around $12 million on the
back of the bumper profits amid spiraling energy prices, while BP’s
emissions were broadly unchanged from a year earlier.

BP said that “no decisions have yet been made in respect of any
remuneration payments to be made” to Looney.

Looney replaced Bob Dudley, who had steered BP through the aftermath of
the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010.

https://nypost.com/2023/09/12/bp-ceo-bernard-looney-resigns-relationships- with-colleagues-reported/

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