BP has announced a leadership change at the top of the company, with chief executive Murray Auchincloss stepping down after less than two years in the role. He will be succeeded by Meg O’Neill, the current chief executive of Woodside Energy, who is due to take up the position in April.
Auchincloss said on Wednesday that he would relinquish the chief executive role with immediate effect but would remain at BP in an advisory capacity until the end of 2026. In the interim, Carol Howle, BP’s head of trading, will oversee the company’s operations until O’Neill formally assumes office.
The change comes against the backdrop of a broader reshaping of BP’s leadership following the appointment of Albert Manifold as chair in July, signalling a new phase in the group’s governance and strategic direction.
O’Neill, a former ExxonMobil executive, has led Woodside Energy since 2021, steering the Australian energy major through a period of portfolio consolidation and capital discipline amid heightened scrutiny of oil and gas companies’ investment strategies and energy transition plans.
Her appointment places an experienced upstream and international operator at the helm of BP at a time when the company is balancing shareholder pressure for financial returns with longer-term decisions on capital allocation, hydrocarbons investment and the pace of transition spending.
BP said further details on the transition and strategic priorities under O’Neill’s leadership would be communicated closer to her start date.
