by Dmitry Zhdannikov and Ron Bousso
LONDON (Reuters) – The resignation of BP Chief Executive Bernard Looney has plunged the British oil major into a governance crisis with no candidate groomed to succeed him, industry and finance sources said. business.
Several current and former BP executives are seen as potential candidates to succeed Bernard Looney, who resigned as chief executive Tuesday after admitting a lack of transparency in his past personal dealings with employees, according to the sources.
Bernard Looney left after three and a half years at the head of the company, and an entire career within the British major.
During his tenure, he focused on establishing a long-term strategy for BP’s energy transition from oil and gas to renewable energy.
The former director, aged 53, had not started preparing his succession because he planned to remain in his position for the coming years, according to sources within the company.
To deal with the emergency, BP’s board appointed finance director Murray Auchincloss as interim chief executive.
And it has begun internal and external searches to find a new general director on a permanent basis, President Helge Lund told staff at a public meeting Wednesday, according to sources present at the meeting.
Murray Auchinclosse, 52, worked closely with Bernard Looney on developing BP’s energy transition strategy and advocated a focus on high-yielding assets to finance the transition, according to two industry sources. ‘business.
The likelihood that Murray Auchinclosse will remain CEO in the long term, however, appears slim, three sources told Reuters.
“Murray is a great man and a good, strong CFO. But I doubt he will stay on as chief executive,” a source close to BP said, noting his lack of experience in business operations.
Other candidates to succeed Bernard Looney include President Helge Lund himself, Executive Vice President for Production and Operations Gordon Birrell and Executive Vice President for Regions William Lin.
A BP spokesperson declined to comment.
For the sources, Helge Lund appears by far to be the most obvious candidate. The Norwegian, 60, already headed the Equinor group and BP before its merger with Shell.
However, his motivation could be lacking. He acknowledged, in private conversations with sources within the company, that he may have passed the point where he wanted to return to the high-energy role of chief executive.
In the external applications, three names are mentioned – those of three former BP executives.
Namely Rolls-Royce chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic, who previously led BP’s downstream business, and Ineos Energy chairman Brian Gilvary, who was previously BP’s chief financial officer.
The two men were already in the race to succeed general manager Bob Dudley in 2020 before being beaten by Bernard Looney.
Al Cook, who runs diamond giant De Beers after holding senior roles at BP and Equinor, is also seen as a potential candidate, the three sources said.
Brian Gilvary declined to comment. Tufan Erginbilgic and Al Cook did not respond to a request for comment.
(Report by Dmitry Zhdannikov, by Nathan Vifflin, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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