CEO of BP Plc Bernard Looney has resigned with immediate effect due to the inability to fully disclose past relationships with colleagues.
He will be replaced on an interim basis by the Chief Financial Officer Murray Auchinclossthe company said in an emailed statement on Tuesday.
“Looney informed the company today that he now accepts that he was not fully transparent in his previous disclosures,” the statement said. “The company has strong values and the board expects everyone within the company to behave in accordance with those values.”
BP’s US depositary receipts rose as much as 2.9% after the news, which was first reported by the Financial Times.
Since I got the top job over three years ago, Looney has been the strongest advocate among oil supermajor CEOs for a faster shift to the oil sector low carbon energy. Even after rolling back some of its strongest ambitions for emissions cuts earlier this year, BP still has one of the most aggressive plans to cut oil production and expand electric car charging and renewable energy.
The news comes a month after the London-based company increased its dividend by 10% and said it would buy back an additional $1.5 billion of shares. Despite these efforts to attract investors, BP’s shares have lagged their peers since Looney became CEO.
The American giants Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., which have stuck much closer to their core oil and gas businesses than the European majors, are much more attractive to investors, especially since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent energy prices soaring.
Born in 1970 and trained as an electrical engineer at University College Dublin, Looney is a BP lifer and worked his way up the chain of command from drilling engineer to head of exploration before being appointed CEO in 2020.
He will be replaced on an interim basis by the Chief Financial Officer Murray Auchinclossthe company said in an emailed statement on Tuesday.
“Looney informed the company today that he now accepts that he was not fully transparent in his previous disclosures,” the statement said. “The company has strong values and the board expects everyone within the company to behave in accordance with those values.”
BP’s US depositary receipts rose as much as 2.9% after the news, which was first reported by the Financial Times.
Since I got the top job over three years ago, Looney has been the strongest advocate among oil supermajor CEOs for a faster shift to the oil sector low carbon energy. Even after rolling back some of its strongest ambitions for emissions cuts earlier this year, BP still has one of the most aggressive plans to cut oil production and expand electric car charging and renewable energy.
The news comes a month after the London-based company increased its dividend by 10% and said it would buy back an additional $1.5 billion of shares. Despite these efforts to attract investors, BP’s shares have lagged their peers since Looney became CEO.
The American giants Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., which have stuck much closer to their core oil and gas businesses than the European majors, are much more attractive to investors, especially since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent energy prices soaring.
Born in 1970 and trained as an electrical engineer at University College Dublin, Looney is a BP lifer and worked his way up the chain of command from drilling engineer to head of exploration before being appointed CEO in 2020.
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