BP shares fall after shock departure of chief executive

Bernard Looney departed the €102bn (£88bn) company with immediate effect, less than four years into his tenure.

BP shares fell on Tuesday after the previous night’s shock announcement that its chief executive had resigned having admitted to failing to fully detail relationships with colleagues.

Bernard Looney, who spent his entire career with the oil and gas multinational, departed the €102bn (£88bn) company with immediate effect, less than four years into his tenure.

BP informed investors on Tuesday night that Looney “did not provide details of all relationships and accepts he was obliged to make more complete disclosure”. The company’s shares fell more than 2% during trading on the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

BP said in a statement that the board first received allegations “relating to Mr Looney’s conduct in respect of personal relationships with company colleagues” in May last year, after contact from an anonymous source.

The company and an external legal team reviewed the claims, prompting Looney to disclose “a small number of historical relationships with colleagues prior to becoming CEO”.

At the time, BP did not find any breach of the company’s code of conduct. However, it said its board “sought and was given assurances by Mr Looney regarding disclosure of past personal relationships, as well as his future behaviour”.

After receiving further allegations of a similar nature recently, BP said it and its external legal counsel began an investigation, which is ongoing.

BP said: “Mr Looney has today informed the company that he now accepts that he was not fully transparent in his previous disclosures.” It added that Looney did not provide details of all relationships and accepted he should have made more complete disclosure.

“The company has strong values and the board expects everyone at the company to behave in accordance with those values. All leaders in particular are expected to act as role models and to exercise good judgment in a way that earns the trust of others,” BP said.

Looney’s pay package more than doubled to £10m in 2022 — a move that was labelled a “kick in the teeth” for consumers battling the cost-of-living crisis.

His remuneration included a salary of £1.4m, a bonus of £2.4m — down fractionally on 2021 — and a £6m share award, as well as benefits. This meant that the total package was 120% more than the £4.5m he received in 2021.

BP said “no decisions have yet been made in respect of any remuneration payments to be made to Mr Looney”. The company added that any decisions, including any payments made to Looney for his resignation, would be disclosed when its annual accounts and reports were published.

Murray Auchincloss, the company’s chief financial officer, will run the business on an interim basis while BP seeks a replacement.

Guardian Service