By Stephanie Kelly and Shadia Nasralla
LONDON, April 1 (Reuters) – BP’s new CEO Meg O’Neill told employees on Wednesday she would offer consistency while accelerating the group’s performance, a year after BP pivoted its strategy firmly back to oil and gas, according to a staff note seen by Reuters.
O’Neill started the job on Wednesday as BP’s fourth CEO since 2020 and its first external hire for the role in more than a century. She is the first woman to lead a top-five oil major.
Formerly of Australia’s Woodside Energy and Exxon Mobil, O’Neill arrives as BP seeks to move away from an ill-fated foray into renewables.
‘CLEAR DIRECTION AND CONSISTENCY’
“I believe we can safely accelerate performance and drive innovation, sustainability and growth,” she said in a staff note seen by Reuters. “I’m committed to providing clear direction and consistency so we can move forward together with confidence.”
She joins new chairman Albert Manifold, who took up the role in October and has underscored the need to further reshape BP’s portfolio to boost profitability. Manifold has come under pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management, one of BP’s largest shareholders, to address what it has called the company’s shortcomings.
Manifold recently announced a leaner board, with former Shell chief financial officer Simon Henry among those departing, saying fewer directors would allow for faster decision-making and sharper oversight as part of BP’s reset.
BP has cut billions of dollars from planned renewable energy initiatives, pledged to divest $20 billion of assets by 2027, and to reduce debt and costs. Net debt fell to $22 billion from $26 billion in the fourth quarter last year, and BP reiterated its target range of $14 billion-$18 billion by 2027.
The company suspended share buybacks in February to focus on cutting debt and refocusing investment on oil and gas projects.
(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly and Shadia Nasralla. Editing by Mark Potter)
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