BP CEO Bob Dudley to retire, Bernard Looney will succeed
British Petroleum (BP) CEO Bob Dudley (R) attends a conference during the "Tomorrow in Motion" event on October 1, 2018, ahead of the first press day of the Paris Motor Show.
ERIC PIERMONT | AFP | Getty Images
BP chief Bob Dudley will resign from his current role at the end of March next year, the energy giant announced Friday.
Dudley, who has worked with BP for 40 years and held the position of CEO for nearly a decade, will be replaced by BP's current upstream manager, Bernard Looney.
The FTSE 1[ads1]00 giant said in a press release that Dudley, who is 64 years old, has decided to step down from his role following the delivery of the company's full-year results for 2019 on February 4, 2020. He then resigns on March 31 later same year.
Looney, 49, continues his current role until February 5, when he will take the reins from Dudley and join the BP board.
Shares of BP traded almost 1% on the news.
"It's been a lifetime of service to this company and working in this industry for the last four decades. I've worked with so many dedicated people from around the world – both inside and outside BP – and I'm immensely proud of all those things we have achieved together to provide energy to the world, "Dudley said in a statement on Friday.
"Bernard (Looney) is a fantastic choice to lead the company next. He knows BP and our industry as well as anyone, but is creative and not bound by traditional ways of working. I have no doubt that he thoughtfully will lead BP through the transition to a low carbon future, "he added.
& # 39; Challenging time & # 39;
Dudley took over as CEO of BP on October 1, 2010 in the wake of the largest oil spill in US history. The Deepwater Horizon disaster killed 11 people and threatened the company's existence.
His job was to try to restore the company to a position it held before the explosion, and to manage the company's balance sheet while facing billions of penalties and cleaning costs for dollars.
"Bob has dedicated his entire career to the service of this industry. He was named CEO at probably the most challenging time in BP's history," BP Chairman Helge Lund said in a statement.
"During his tenure he led the recovery from the Deepwater Horizon accident, rebuilt BP as a stronger, safer company and helped it regain its position as one of the leaders in the energy sector. This company – and indeed the entire industry – owes him a debt of gratitude, "Lund said.
A BP company logo appears on a fuel pump in front of a gas station operated by BP Plc in London, United Kingdom [19659002] Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The BP chief executive also faced a historic collapse in oil prices in 2014, with the decline in crude futures that eventually forced BP to withdraw its capital development plans and delay investment projects. recently BP agreed to a request from shareholders in May for more detail and transparency on how each capital investment decision would be in line with the Paris Agreement's climate agreement – an international agreement that seeks to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius.
Last month, Dudley said BP would sell some of its most carbon-intensive projects and reduce investment in others to try to improve the company's environmental footprint.
The energy giant has been targeted by climate activists several times over the past few months, with protesters constantly angered by the lack of progress toward a lower carbon future.
BP's shares have increased by about 10% since Dudley joined the helm.
Who is Bernard Looney?
Looney has been running BP's upstream business since April 2016 and has been a member of the company's corporate management since November 2010.
BP's upstream segment includes 17,000 people operating in nearly 30 countries and producing about 2.6 million barrels of oil and gas equivalent day.
Looney began as an Irish citizen of BP in 1991 as a drilling engineer and worked in operational roles in the North Sea, Vietnam and the Gulf of Mexico.
"It has been a great pleasure to work with Bob, and it is an honor to succeed him as CEO. I am humbled by the responsibilities that are left to me by the Board and are really excited about both the role and BP's future, "said Looney.
"Our company has wonderful people, tremendous assets and a set of core values that guide our actions, but most of all we want to be better. I look forward to taking advantage of that desire and building on that strong foundation that Bob has built when we meet society's demand for cleaner, better energy. "
