Business
BP names new boss as current CEO leaves after less than two years
Archie MitchellBusiness reporter
ReutersBP has appointed a new chief executive, making Meg O’Neill the first woman to run a major global oil firm.
The London-based energy giant said its current boss Murray Auchincloss would step down less than two years after he replaced Bernard Looney, who was found to have committed “serious misconduct” in failing to disclose relationships with colleagues.
BP executive vice president Carol Howle will serve as interim chief executive until Ms O’Neill, who has led Australian energy firm Woodside Energy since 2021, takes up her new role on 1 April.
Ms O’Neill said she looks forward to helping BP “do our part to meet the world’s energy needs”.
Mr Auchincloss, who took over from Mr Looney in September 2024, said he had told BP’s chairman in September that he was open to stepping down “were an appropriate leader identified”.
“I am confident that BP is now well positioned for significant growth and I look forward to watching the company’s future progress,” he said after Ms O’Neill’s appointment was announced. He will serve in an advisory role until December 2026.
Ms O’Neill said she would prioritise re-establishing the oil giant’s market leadership, as well as advancing safety and driving innovation and sustainability.
BP praised Ms O’Neill’s time as chief executive of Woodside Energy, pointing to the firm’s takeover of BHP Petroleum International in 2022.
It said she had grown the business into the largest energy company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Before joining Woodside, Ms O’Neill spent 23 years in technical, operational and leadership positions at Texas-based energy firm ExxonMobil.
Mr Looney was dismissed without notice in 2023, and forfeited up to £32.4m ($43.3m) in salary and benefits, after admitting that he was not “fully transparent” about his past personal relationships.
BP’s board said they had been “knowingly misled” by Mr Looney.
At the time, Mr Looney said in a statement that he was “disappointed with the way this situation has been handled”.
Ms O’Neill’s appointment comes as BP is cutting its renewable energy investments and instead focusing on increasing oil and gas production.
In February, the energy giant said it would shift its strategy following pressure from some investors who were frustrated that its profits and share price had lagged behind rivals.
Rivals Shell and Norwegian company Equinor have also scaled back plans to invest in green energy and US President Donald Trump’s call to “drill baby drill” has encouraged firms to invest in fossil fuels.
The sudden departure of Mr Auchincloss comes only three months after the appointment of a new chair of the BP board, Albert Manifold.
Energy consultant and former Shell executive Robin Mills told the BBC’s Today programme that the “surprise” appointment of Ms O’Neill was about refocusing on its core oil and gas businesses.
“The new chairman, Albert Manifold, has really decided to put his stamp on things,” he said.
“I think the announcement that’s been put here made it very clear that he felt Murray [Auchincloss] had done a decent job, but not enough and more was needed and some new leadership, some new blood.”
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The BSE Sensex is trading higher by 371 points, or 0.47%, at 81,090.24, while the NSE Nifty rises by 70 points to trade above 24,850 at 24,889.25.
Stock Market Today.
Market Updates Today: A day after the market crash following the Budget’s provision to hike Securities Transaction Tax (STT), the domestic equity market on Monday saw heightened volatility. After opening nearly flat, the NSE Nifty rose to the day’s high, then touched the day’s low before sharply recovering to trade at the day’s high of 25,093.
As of 3:16 pm, the BSE Sensex surged by 932 points, or up 1.13%, to 81,641.87 in the afternoon trade and the NSE Nifty rose by 267 points, or up 1.07%, to trade above 25,000 at 25,093.27. After opening nearly flat, the NSE Nifty rose to the day’s high, then touched the day’s low before sharply recovering to trade at the day’s high of 25,093.27.
Among the 30 Sensex shares, 25 stocks were trading in the green. Among the top gainers were PowerGrid, Adani Ports, BEL, Reliance, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, and IndiGo, rising by up to 7.91%. The laggards were Axis Bank, Infosys, Titan, TCS, and Trent, falling by up to 1.97%.
After opening nearly flat, at around 9:30 am, the BSE Sensex jumped by 350 points to 81,112.03 in the opening trade, while the NSE Nifty rose 91 points to trade above the 24,900 level at 24,910.85. However, the benchmarks gave up all gains and declined to day’s low amid heavy volatility.
Aakash Shah, technical research analyst at Choice Equity Broking Private Ltd, said, “Near-term sentiment remains cautious despite some support from domestic technical indicators. The broader market direction will largely be influenced by global equity cues, crude oil price movements, and institutional fund flows.”
On Sunday, the Nifty saw an aggressive sell-off after the Budget 2026 announcement to hike STT, plunging nearly 870 points from 25,440 to an intraday low of 24,571, before staging a partial recovery to close at 24,825.
“A strong bearish candle was formed, with the index closing decisively below the 200-day EMA, indicating a deterioration in trend strength. Immediate resistance is placed at 24,950–25,000, while key support lies in the 24,650-24,700 zone. The RSI slipped to 31, reflecting oversold conditions, while India VIX surged 10.73% to 15.09, highlighting elevated market volatility,” Shah said.
On Sunday, February 1, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 588 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also remained net sellers, offloading shares worth Rs 682 crore, adding to the pressure on the market.
V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd, said, “Yesterday’s market selloff resulting in 495 point crash in Nifty was a knee-jerk reaction to the sharp increase in STT on F&O trades. This was not a revenue-raising measure, but a decision to discourage retail traders from complex F&O trading, in which 92% of them were losing money. This decision is in the interest of retail investors. But this decision impacted the market sentiments, which were already impacted by the decision to make no changes in the LTCGs tax, which a section of the market was expecting rather unrealistically.”
It is important to understand that the Budget is a growth-oriented Budget with fiscal prudence. The 10% nominal GDP growth projected in the Budget is achievable and has the potential to deliver around 15% earnings growth in FY27. The market will soon start discounting this positive. But it is possible that FIIs may continue to sell impacting the market. Retail investors should keep their cool and remain invested and continue to invest systematically. A significant upturn in the market may take time; perhaps a retreat from AI trade globally. We don’t know when this will happen. But we know that an earnings rebound is imminent in response to this growth oriented Budget. That is a clear positive, he added.
February 02, 2026, 09:34 IST
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