BP’s (BP.L) chief executive resigned late on Tuesday after the UK oil giant’s board found he had not been sufficiently transparent about past relationships with company colleagues.
While his exit appears unrelated to strategy, it puts Chair Helge Lund and the rest of BP’s board on the spot over the $112 billion group’s future direction.
On the face of it, BP’s strategy should be unaffected by Looney’s missteps.
While Looney subsequently revised the reduction in hydrocarbons to 25%, BP remained more committed to the energy transition than European rival Shell (SHEL.L) or U.S. giants Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and Chevron (CVX.N).
Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsLund and board colleagues may be minded to do the same.
Persons:
Bernard Looney, Helge Lund, Looney’s missteps, Looney, Wael Sawan, Norway’s Equinor, Murray Auchincloss, Peter Thal Larsen, Sharon Lam
Organizations:
Reuters, BP, Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Exxon, New Shell, Reuters Graphics, Graphics Lund, International Energy Agency, Thomson
Locations:
Ukraine, Germany, U.S