Bernard Looney resigned as chief executive of BP with immediate effect for failing to disclose details of past personal relations with colleagues fully, the company said in a statement on 12 September.
BP said that Murray Auchincloss, the company’s chief financial officer, will act as the chief executive on an interim basis.
Looney, 53, informed the company earlier on 12 September that “he now accepts that he was not fully transparent in his previous disclosures,” BP said. “He did not provide details of all relationships and accepts he was obligated to make more complete disclosure.”
The Irish executive joined BP in 1991 and spent his entire career with the company. He was appointed chief executive in 2020 with the remit to transform the oil supermajor into an integrated energy company capable of managing the energy transition.
The company said that in May 2022, its board received and reviewed allegations relating to Looney’s “conduct in respect of personal relationships with company colleagues.” During the review, the executive disclosed a small number of historical relationships with colleagues before becoming CEO. The investigation did not find any breach of conduct, the company said.
“Further allegations of a similar nature were received recently, and the company immediately began investigating with the support of external legal counsel,” BP said, adding that the process is ongoing.
“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,” the company said.
BP said that no decision has been made regarding “any remuneration payments to be made” to Looney.
Looney replaced Bob Dudley, who had steered BP through the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010.
