Murray Auchincloss - REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo
LONDON: BP interim boss Murray Auchincloss was named permanent CEO on Wednesday four months after the energy giant was rocked by the sudden resignation of Bernard Looney over undisclosed relationships with employees.
Auchincloss, who headed BP's finances under Looney, indicated he will continue a strategy aimed at slashing carbon emissions, building up its renewables and clean fuel capacity and cutting oil and gas output by 2030.
"Our strategy - from international oil company to integrated energy company, or IOC to IEC - does not change. I'm convinced about the significant value we can create," Auchincloss said in a statement.
"Now, more than ever, our focus must remain on delivery - operating safely and efficiently, executing with discipline, and always focusing on returns."
BP's shares have sharply underperformed rivals since Loony's departure, raising speculation that BP could be an acquisition target amid a recent wave of consolidation.
Auchincloss, 53, became interim CEO after Looney resigned on Sept. 12 for failing to disclose relationships with employees, throwing the energy giant into turmoil.
Auchincloss's partner is herself a BP employee, a relationship he disclosed prior to becoming CFO in 2020.
He was seen as the most likely candidate for the permanent job after Chairman Helge Lund and BP's board had short-listed two other internal candidates - BP head of trading and shipping Carol Howle and Emma Delaney, head of customers and products, sources told Reuters in December.
"Since September, BP's board has undertaken a thorough and highly competitive process to identify BP's next CEO, considering a number of high-calibre candidates in detail. The board is in complete agreement that Murray was the outstanding candidate and is the right leader for BP," Chairman Helge Lund said in a statement.
Kate Thomson continues as interim CFO as the process to appoint a person to the permanent role continues, a spokesperson said.
Auchincloss, a Canadian national, joined Amoco in 1992 before the company was acquired by BP in 1998. He held roles in finance and mergers and acquisitions and was chief of staff to the CEO between 2010 and 2013. Before becoming group CFO in 2020, he led finance for BP's upstream division under Bernard Looney.
He was key in formulating changes Looney made to the company's strategy last February, including slowing down BP's retreat from oil and gas and reducing spending on renewables in an effort to improve returns.
He will receive an annual salary of 1.45 million pounds ($1.83 million) plus bonus. - Reuters
