LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) – Murray Auchincloss, BP’s interim chief executive, said on Wednesday the company would not deviate from its energy transition strategy following the sudden resignation of his predecessor, Bernard Looney, amid allegations of bad behavior.
BP scaled back its energy transition strategy earlier this year but remains the only oil company to plan to cut oil and gas production by 25% by 2030.
Looney has held the top position at the British oil company since February 2020 and is leading a radical change. On Tuesday he resigned due to allegations of personal relationships with company partners.
Auchincloss told staff in a brief meeting on Wednesday that the company’s goals had not changed.
“Our strategy has not changed. And our focus remains quarter-on-quarter performance,” said Auchincloss, former chief financial officer, according to a company spokesperson.
BP’s management team has not changed and “we have the full support of the board to continue to deliver on the plan we lay out,” he added.
BP’s board has begun to search, internally and externally, for a new permanent chief executive, Chairman Helge Lund told employees, according to sources present at the meeting, which lasted about 10 minutes.
The new allegations of misconduct against Looney, 53, prompted BP’s board to launch an investigation, after investigating similar allegations against Irish in May 2022, which provided assurances about his future behavior, according to a statement.
BP shares closed up 2.7%, compared with a 0.25% decline in the broader European energy index.
