Energy giant BP welcomed its new chief executive Wednesday, marking a historic milestone as Meg O’Neill becomes the first woman to lead a major oil company.
O’Neill assumed leadership of the British petroleum company after previously working at Australia’s Woodside Energy and Exxon Mobil. She represents BP’s first outside CEO appointment in over 100 years and is the fourth person to hold the position since 2020.
In an internal message to BP workers obtained by Reuters, O’Neill outlined her vision for the company’s future direction.
“I believe we can safely accelerate performance and drive innovation, sustainability and growth,” she stated in the employee communication. “I’m committed to providing clear direction and consistency so we can move forward together with confidence.”
O’Neill’s appointment comes as BP works to distance itself from unsuccessful renewable energy investments and refocus on traditional oil and gas operations. The leadership change occurred exactly one year after the company shifted its strategic priorities back toward fossil fuel production.
She will collaborate with newly appointed chairman Albert Manifold, who joined the company in October and has emphasized the importance of restructuring BP’s business portfolio to improve financial returns. Manifold faces mounting pressure from Elliott Investment Management, a major shareholder and activist investor, to address what they view as operational deficiencies.
As part of organizational changes, Manifold recently streamlined the company’s board of directors, including the departure of former Shell financial chief Simon Henry. The reduced board size aims to enable quicker decision-making and more focused oversight during BP’s strategic transformation.
The company has implemented significant financial restructuring, slashing billions from renewable energy projects while committing to sell $20 billion in assets by 2027. These moves support goals to decrease debt and operational expenses.
BP’s financial position showed improvement in the most recent quarter, with net debt declining from $26 billion to $22 billion. The company maintains its debt reduction target of reaching between $14 billion and $18 billion by 2027.
In February, BP halted its share repurchase program to concentrate resources on debt reduction and increased investment in traditional oil and gas projects.
