BP appoints Woodside’s Meg O’Neill as CEO after Auchincloss’ abrupt exit

Oil and gas giant BP said it has appointed Meg O’Neill, chief executive of Australia’s Woodside Energy, as chief executive from April 1 following the sudden departure of Murray Auchincloss. O’Neill will be BP’s first externally appointed CEO in its more than century history and the first woman to head any of the world’s five largest oil companies.

The second CEO change in just over two years is a sign that the British oil giant is seeking a renewed push to improve its business after its shares and earnings have lagged behind rivals such as Exxon Mobil and Shell for years. The company made a major strategy shift earlier this year, cutting billions of dollars from planned renewable energy initiatives and shifting its focus back to conventional oil and gas.

“Progress has been made in recent years, but greater rigor and diligence is needed to make the transformative changes necessary to maximize value for our shareholders,” BP Chairman Albert Manifold, who took over his role in October, said in a statement.
‘HIGH PROFILE HIRE’ O’Neill, an American from Boulder, Colorado, has been at the helm of Woodside since 2021 and previously spent 23 years at Exxon Mobil. Under his leadership, Woodside merged with BHP Group’s oil arm to become one of the world’s top 10 independent oil and gas producers, valued at $40 billion, doubling Woodside’s oil and gas production.

“This is clearly a high-profile hire and probably one of the changes BP shareholders are looking for,” said Dan Pickering, chief investment officer at Pickering Energy Partners.

Carol Howle, BP’s vice president, will serve as interim CEO until O’Neill takes over. Auchincloss will leave the company on Thursday. The company had not publicly announced a search process for his successor before marking his departure late Wednesday evening.
Auchincloss became CEO in 2024, taking over from Bernard Looney, who resigned after lying about personal relationships with colleagues. After an ill-fated foray into renewable energy under the Looney administration, BP vowed to improve profitability and cut costs while redirecting spending to focus on oil and gas. In August, BP launched a review into how best to develop and monetize its oil and gas production assets. When Manifold took office, he called for a deeper reshaping of BP’s portfolio to improve profitability. Manifold has faced pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management, one of BP’s largest shareholders, which in July called on him to urgently address the company’s shortcomings and exercise “decisive and effective leadership”. Woodside said in a separate statement that O’Neill was leaving the Australian company immediately and appointed executive Liz Westcott as acting CEO, with plans to announce a permanent appointment in the first quarter of 2026.