BP CEO: Investors and Customers Need to Trust us Equally

BP’s new CEO says the company still needs to focus on streamlining its decision making processes as well as strengthening trust with the firm’s investors.

In a statement marking her first 100 days as head executive, Meg O’Neill discussed the next phase in BP’s direction and how the company will reposition itself to benefit its investor and consumer base.

“We need to be deliberate about where we invest and where we don’t,” Meg says. She adds that the company needs to make “fewer, better choices” and needs to hold itself accountable. 

She adds: “Investors should be able to rely on us in the same way our customers do.”

Streamlining business operations

Meg says her strategy to simplify company structures is helping BP’s response to disruption caused by the war in Iran. She goes on to say that the firm’s trading and shipping arm has worked alongside the refining team to react constructively to the oil crisis.

The company’s response involved the delivery of millions of litres of diesel from the US to Australia as well as the production of more jet fuel in Spain.

She says the company has “moved at pace to simplify BP into two businesses, upstream and downstream”, adding that trading will connect both to create value.

Analysts in the oil industry note how the supply chain disruption and inflated oil prices caused by the war in Iran are providing Meg with breathing room to help address BP’s financial concerns.

Meg recently announced a leadership reshuffle at BP’s executive level and a reorganisation of the company’s reporting structures. Despite these changes, she is yet to address longer-term targets beyond 2027.

Additionally, Meg’s post did not address the ousting of previous BP Chairman Albert Manifold, who was unexpectedly ousted in May, following accusations of workplace misconduct.

BP’s three priorities moving forward

In the post, Meg laid out three priorities for the firm to make BP more simple and more valuable: operational excellence, improved accountability and strong discipline in costs, cash and capital.

BP’s reorganisation into two business segments - upstream and downstream – from three, went into effect at the beginning of July.

Addressing BP investors at a meeting this week, Meg says the company will prioritise debt reduction to enhance cash flow and will continue to reshape its portfolio. She added that it will also divest from its solar energy segment Lightsource BP.

According to notes from Royal Bank of Canada analysts who attended the meeting, BP is expected to put forward “a strategy which is focused on growing scale in core positions” but that the company will need to “shrink the debt burden to make room for more investment”.

Meg’s tenure first began as the war in Iran disrupted the energy industry on a global scale, resulting in little shipping traffic going through the critical Strait of Hormuz. 

Despite the crisis, this assisted BP’s financial results in the first quarter, with profit more than doubling year-on-year to US$3.2bn.