BP CEO Bernard Looney to resign

BP CEO Bernard Looney is to resign, the company said on Tuesday, due to “not being fully transparent” about personal relationships with colleagues.

His resignation is with immediate effect.

Looney took office 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.

BP said in a statement on Tuesday: “In May 2022, the Board received and reviewed allegations, with the support of external legal counsel, relating to Mr Looney’s conduct in respect of personal relationships with company colleagues. The information came from an anonymous source.

“During that review, Mr 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. However, the Board sought and was given assurances by Mr Looney regarding disclosure of past personal relationships, as well as his future behaviour.

“Further allegations of a similar nature were received recently, and the Company immediately began investigating with the support of external legal counsel. That process is ongoing. Mr Looney has today informed the Company that he now accepts that he was not fully transparent in his previous disclosures. He did not provide details of all relationships and accepts he was obligated to make more complete disclosure.”

It said Murray Auchincloss, the company’s CFO, will act as CEO on an interim basis.

Looney has navigated the group 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.

Earlier this year, BP scaled down 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 realise competitive returns from its non-hydrocarbon businesses.

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

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

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

No decisions have yet been made in respect of any remuneration payments to be made to Looney, BP said in the statement.

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

BP shares ended up 1% before the report which was published after trading hours in London. With Staff Writer

Reuters