By AFP
December 18, 2025
In January 2025, British oil giant BP announced it would cut thousands of staff jobs. — © AFP/File STR
Ben PERRY
British energy giant BP, which this year shelved targets on reducing carbon emissions, has appointed industry veteran Meg O’Neill to be chief executive from April, replacing Murray Auchincloss who stepped down Thursday.
BP said in a statement that company executive Carol Howle will serve as interim CEO until O’Neill moves over from her position as chief executive of Australian group Woodside Energy.
O’Neill becomes the first woman chief executive of an oil major, a term used to describe the likes of Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron and TotalEnergies.
The American national, who spent 23 years working for ExxonMobil, is also the first external candidate be appointed CEO of BP in the group’s 116-year history. O’Neill has led Woodside Energy since April 2021.
– ‘Transformation’ –
The unexpected boardroom shakeup comes with BP pivoting back to its more profitable oil and gas business as it slashes clean energy investment.
BP chair Albert Manifold said O’Neill’s “proven track record of driving transformation, growth, and disciplined capital allocation makes her the right leader”.
He added that the change helps to “accelerate” BP’s “strategic vision to become a simpler, leaner, and more profitable company.
O’Neill is the first external candidate be appointed CEO of BP in the group’s 116-year history – Copyright AFP Nelson ALMEIDA
“Progress has been made in recent years, but increased rigor and diligence are required to make the necessary transformative changes to maximise value for our shareholders,” said Manifold, in his role since October.
O’Neill said “BP has significant potential to re-establish market leadership”, adding she planned to “accelerate performance, advance safety, drive innovation and sustainability and do our part to meet the world’s energy needs”.
BP’s latest earnings update in November revealed a sharp rise in net profit for the third quarter as higher oil output and cost-cutting helped offset a drop in crude prices.
Profit after tax jumped to $1.16 billion for the July-September period, compared with $206 million one year earlier.
“After more than three decades with BP, now is the right time to hand the reins to a new leader,” Auchincloss said in Thursday’s statement.
“When Albert became chair, I expressed my openness to step down were an appropriate leader identified who could accelerate delivery of BP’s strategy,” he added.
Despite energy prices weakening this year on concerns that US President Donald Trump’s tariffs will hurt economic growth — and more recently on talk of a possible end to Russia’s war in Ukraine adding to oversupply concerns — BP and rivals continue to focus on squeezing as much revenue out of fossil fuels as possible.
“With the sector facing pressure, consolidation is the talk of the town, but BP is most frequently seen as prey rather than the hunter,” Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, noted Thursday.
“Rival Shell has distanced itself from takeover speculation, but there are other potential suitors.”
BP’s share price edged up 0.1 percent in early London trading following the latest announcement, matching the gain on the capital’s top-tier FTSE 100 index.
Woodside Energy Chief O’Neil To Take Helm at BP in 2026
- FTSE 100 oil major BP has replaced its chief executive, Murray Auchincloss, after just two years, with Woodside Energy chief Meg O’Neil set to take the helm in April 2026.
- The appointment of O’Neil comes as BP faces significant pressure, including a £3.8bn stake acquired by activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which has pushed for a faster strategic overhaul.
- BP has become an outlier in the industry by raising its spending on energy transition activities to 30% since 2020, a move that has been met with a huge rebellion from shareholders scrutinizing the firm’s environmental policy.
FTSE 100 oil major BP has replaced its top boss after just two years in the role as the energy giant targets a major turnaround.
BP will swap out incumbent boss Murray Auchincloss, who has been in the role since the start of 2024, for Woodside Energy chief Meg O’Neil.
Auchincloss will step down with immediate effect with O’Neil to take the helm in April 2026. Executive vice president Carol Howle will serve as the interim chief.
Albert Manifold, chair of BP, said: “O’Neil’s relentless focus on business improvement and financial discipline gives us high confidence in her ability to shape this great company for its next phase of growth and pursue significant strategic and financial opportunities.”
Reacting to the news Shell executive Robin Mills told the BBC’s Today programme the “surprise” appointment indicated the “new chairman… has really decided to put his stamp on things”.
Earlier this year, BP fended off speculation it was the subject of takeover interest from rival Shell.
A Shell spokesperson dismissed rumours as “market speculation” and said “no talks are taking place”.
O’Neil ‘may have a fight on her hands’
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “O’Neill may have a fight on her hands to ensure BP’s not sold for a song, and to keep a seat at the table if it were to join forces with a competitor.
“Murray Auchincloss’s future has been in the balance ever since activist investor Elliott Investment Management took over a five per cent stake in BP.”
The notorious activist investor shored up a £3.8bn stake in BP, becoming the ailing oil major’s third-largest shareholder, earlier this year.
The size of Elliott’s stake piled further pressure on Auchincloss to go further and faster with his firm’s long-trailed strategic overhaul.
Since the start of 2020, BP has raised its spending on energy transition activity – including wind power and controversial carbon capture technology – from three per cent to 30 per cent.
In doing so, it became a net zero outlier among its competitors, almost all of which have taken a more gradual approach to their respective moves away from fossil fuels.
The oil giant suffered a huge rebellion from its shareholders as the London-listed firm’s annual general meeting faced scrutiny of its environmental policy.
Nearly a quarter voted against the re-election of outgoing chair Helge Lund at the firm’s annual general meeting. as conflict swirled over BP’s decision to cut back on climate goals.
By City AM
BP CEO Shake-Up Reopens Talk of a Shell Megadeal
- Meg O’Neill’s appointment as BP CEO marks a historic first for Big Oil, making her the first woman to lead a supermajor when she takes over in April 2026.
- Her arrival has reignited speculation of a BP–Shell megamerger.
- Timing adds fuel to the rumors, as Shell’s six-month restriction on bidding for BP expires on December 26, reopening the door to potential takeover talks.
The appointment of Meg O’Neill as BP's chief executive officer, replacing Murray Auchincloss, is a momentous milestone in the oil industry. When O’Neill takes over on April 1, 2026, she will become the first woman ever to lead a Big Oil company.
But O’Neill’s arrival at BP could turn out to be even more momentous for the industry, as it could lead to the biggest merger deal in decades.
Hours after BP announced that Auchincloss is stepping down effective immediately and O’Neill of Woodside Energy would become BP’s next CEO, analysts returned to speculating that the leadership shake-up could lead to a blockbuster merger deal involving the UK supermajor.
Reuters energy columnist Ron Bousso and Forbes contributor Tim Treadgold speculate that the arrival of O’Neill could make a Shell-BP megadeal closer than ever before.
O’Neill’s career history, the timing of the BP leadership change, and the UK supermajor’s struggles in recent years to please investors, including activist hedge fund Elliott, give credence to renewed market chatter that the company could move on to considering a merger with Shell.
Related: $60 Oil Is No Longer a Floor
In the previous period of intense speculation about a megadeal, Shell addressed the topic in June, following months of market chatter that BP, weaker than the other supermajors, could be a prime target of a takeover bid from Shell, or even the U.S. giants, ExxonMobil or Chevron.
Under UK market rules, Shell confirmed on June 26 it has no intention of making an offer for BP, and by confirming this, Shell was bound by the restrictions in the rules not to make an offer for BP in the following six months.
This period expires on December 26.
A week before Boxing Day, BP this week announced the arrival of new CEO O’Neill, a U.S. citizen, who had spent 23 years in leadership roles at ExxonMobil before joining Woodside Energy in 2018. At Woodside, O’Neill was appointed CEO in 2021, and since then, she has grown Woodside Energy into the largest energy company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. O’Neill steered the merger of BHP’s petroleum business into Woodside in 2022.
BHP’s former CEO from 2013 to 2019 was Sir Andrew Mackenzie, who is now chair of Shell. Prior to executive roles in BHP and another mining giant, Rio Tinto, Mackenzie spent 22 years with BP in senior and executive positions, mostly in exploration and production and petrochemicals, including as Chief Reservoir Engineer and Chief Technology Officer.
Sir Andrew Mackenzie was reportedly interested earlier this year in the pitch of then Shell’s head of M&A, Greg Gut, that the weak share performance of BP could be an opportunity for Shell to add significant oil and gas assets via an acquisition, the Financial Times reported this week, quoting sources familiar with the situation.
Shell CEO Wael Sawan and CFO Sinead Gorman reportedly blocked the pitch, arguing that Shell’s strategy would be derailed by the challenge of executing such a massive deal, according to FT’s sources in a report that was published a day before BP announced on December 17 the CEO shake-up.
Greg Gut left Shell after failing to convince the top executives of the merits of a BP acquisition, FT’s sources said.
BP’s weak first-quarter results and stock underperformance over the past year rekindled speculation in early 2025 that the supermajor could be a target of a blockbuster acquisition.
Speculation about another oil giant taking over BP is not new—such rumors have been swirling for over a decade, particularly ones suggesting that Shell could be the bidder for a merger with BP.
Shell’s CEO Wael Sawan told analysts on the Q1 earnings call in early May that “before we ever look at a sizable inorganic, we have to have our own house in order.”
“I’ve said in the past we want to be value hunters. Today, value hunting, in my view, is buying back more Shell,” Sawan said.
Shell’s hands will be untied on December 26 to potentially approach BP again. Under UK takeover rules, Shell’s June 26 statement prevented it from making an offer for BP for six months ending December 26.
The shake-up in BP’s leadership with the appointment of a CEO who has recently overseen a major merger deal at Woodside is rekindling speculation that a blockbuster deal may be on its way.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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