LONDON, April 2, 2026, 12:15 BST
BP PLC’s new chief executive Meg O’Neill opened her tenure by promising staff “clear direction and consistency,” stepping into a turnaround that is pushing the London-based major deeper into oil and gas after years of costly strategic reversals. O’Neill took over on Wednesday as BP’s first external CEO in more than a century and the first woman to lead a top-five oil major. 1
The timing matters. BP has suspended share buybacks, or repurchases of its own stock, to preserve cash for debt reduction, is selling assets to meet a $20 billion divestment target by 2027, and is reshaping its board as it tries to restore returns and investor trust. The reset is unfolding amid sharp swings in crude prices tied to the Middle East war. 2
In her first note to employees, O’Neill said BP could “safely accelerate performance” and move ahead with confidence. She replaces Murray Auchincloss, who left in December and will stay on as an adviser through the end of 2026. 1
Chairman Albert Manifold has already pared the board to 10 directors, calling a slimmer line-up “a more agile board” that would allow faster decisions. BP has also cut billions of dollars from planned renewables spending, agreed a deal to sell its Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany, and lifted its 2027 structural cost-reduction target to $6.5 billion-$7.5 billion; Reuters reported in March that the group’s divestment programme had passed $11 billion. 3
Unlike Shell and Exxon, which have kept buybacks in place, BP halted them in February as it cut net debt to $22 billion and stuck with a 2027 target of $14 billion-$18 billion. Reuters reported last month that BP shares rose 10% in 2025, trailing Exxon at 12% and Shell at 11%, while a separate Reuters report said the stock had lagged peers for years even after recovering some ground since last year’s reset. 2
Saul Kavonic, head of energy research at MST Marquee, said O’Neill made “really bold moves” at Woodside and pushed its future “toward North America.” Under her watch, Woodside merged with BHP’s petroleum arm, doubled production and built a much larger U.S. gas position; BP, for its part, spent more than 40% of its $16.2 billion investment budget in the United States in 2024 and plans to raise output there by the end of the decade. 1
The reset has carried a price. BP took about $4 billion of impairments in February — accounting writedowns on assets whose expected value has fallen — in its renewables and biogas businesses. Finance chief Kate Thomson said the charges were “the accounting consequences of the discipline” the company was applying as it redirected capital to projects with better returns. 2
O’Neill also arrives into a market still swinging on war news. Brent settled at $101.16 a barrel on Wednesday after easing on hopes of a quicker end to the conflict, then jumped more than 7% to about $108.70 on Thursday after President Donald Trump vowed heavier strikes on Iran, lifting European energy stocks even as broader markets fell. 4
But higher oil prices do not remove the risk. If crude retreats, divestments slow or costs disappoint, BP could find it harder to hit its debt goal and persuade investors that sacrificing buybacks was worth it. Activist shareholders are already pressing management to show how the shift back to oil and gas will create value, and Follow This has threatened court action after BP left its climate resolution off the agenda for the April 23 AGM. 5
The next tests come quickly. BP’s annual meeting is set for April 23, and the company says first-quarter 2026 results are due on April 28 at 07:00 BST, giving investors an early read on whether O’Neill’s first weeks deliver more than a steadier tone. 6
