BP
BP,
Chief Executive Bernard Looney has resigned due to insufficient disclosures of past personal relationships with colleagues, the oil major said Tuesday.
Murray Auchincloss, BP’s chief financial officer, will replace Looney “on an interim basis,” BP said. The news was reported earlier in the day by the Financial Times.
Looney’s resignation ended a tenure that began at the energy giant in 1991. He was appointed BP’s chief executive in 2020, and led an effort to transform the company into one delivering “secure, affordable and lower-carbon energy,” according to a biography.
“Mr. Looney has today informed the company that he now accepts that he was not fully transparent in his previous disclosures,” BP said in a statement. “He did not provide details of all relationships and accepts he was obligated to make more complete disclosure.”
The company said no decisions had been made yet regarding any payouts to Looney. His departure, the statement said, came after the company’s board in May 2022 received allegations from an anonymous source relating to “Looney’s conduct in respect of personal relationships with company colleagues.”
During a review of those allegations, Looney disclosed “a small number of historical relationships with colleagues” before becoming CEO. The review at that time found no breach of the company’s code of conduct. But Looney offered “assurances” regarding those disclosures and his future behavior, the statement said.
Later, BP said, it received further allegations that were similar, leading to an investigation with external legal counsel. That process, it said, was “ongoing.”
Shares of BP were up after hours on Tuesday. The stock finished 1.3% lower during regular trading.
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