bp chairman Helge Lund has ruled himself out as the oil giant’s next chief executive, as he sought to reassure shareholders it was “business as usual” following the abrupt departure of boss Bernard Looney.
Mr Lund, a Norwegian former chief executive of Equinor, told investors in a series of meetings yesterday that he will remain chair and will not replace Mr Looney.
And the chairman told bp staff in a webcast on Wednesday that he had begun the process of appointing a new chief executive and would consider hiring company outsiders to the role.
“We have initiated a process now to appoint the next CEO – we’ll look at internal and external candidates,” he said.
The energy giant is moving to assure markets over its succession plans after the shock exit of Mr Looney earlier this week amid an ongoing investigation into allegations of undisclosed personal relationships with company colleagues.
bp said that Looney had admitted that he had not been “fully transparent in his previous disclosures” and “accepts he was obligated to make more complete disclosure”.
The oil giant has traditionally hired its chief executives from within its own ranks, and has not hired an outsider for its top job in in at least 30 years. But industry experts believe that appointing an outsider cannot be ruled out.
Mr Lund did not give staff a timeline for the company’s search for a permanent chief executive.
The role is currently being filled by BP’s chief financial officer, Murray Auchincloss, on an interim basis. Mr Auchincloss was appointed the company’s chief financial officer in July 2020, months after Looney stepped into the top job in February that year.
FTSE 100
The UK's top share index, the FTSE 100, was up 69-points at 7,742 shortly after opening this morning, following yesterday's 147-point rise.
Brent crude futures were up 0.69% at $94.35 a barrel.
Companies reporting today
There are no FTSE 350 companies reporting today.