BP Chief Executive Officer Bernard Looney has resigned from his role after he disclosed he failed to outline all personal relationships he has had with colleagues, the U.K. oil major announced Tuesday. BP stock advanced Wednesday.
Looney exits the top job at one of the U.K.'s largest companies immediately after a four-year run. Chief Financial Officer Murray Auchincloss will act as an interim CEO, BP said in a press release.
BP announced Tuesday that the company had, in May 2022, received allegations about Looney's "conduct in respect of personal relationships" with colleagues. At the time, Looney disclosed a "small number of historical relationships with colleagues" before he became CEO, according to BP. Looney took the job in February 2020.
The company found Looney did not violate BP's code of conduct. However, the BP board recently received new allegations against Looney.
"Mr. Looney has today informed the company that he now accepts he was not fully transparent in his previous disclosures," the company wrote Tuesday. "He did not provide details of all relationships and accepts he was obligated to make more complete disclosure."
BP stock edged up 0.6% to 38.32 Wednesday during market trade. On Tuesday, shares dropped 1.3% to 38.10 in above-average volume. Under Looney, BP stock rebounded 146% from March 2020 Covid-era lows. During the same time period, ExxonMobil jumped 290% and Chevron advanced 223%.
Tough Year For Oil Majors
Energy stocks lagged early in 2023, dragged down by lower oil and natural gas prices vs. 2022. Last year oil and gas stocks topped the market, after Russia's Ukraine invasion upended global energy markets leading to record profits for ExxonMobil, Chevron and others.
But as oil prices have rebounded over the past three months, oil and gas groups have posted some of the market's strongest moves among industry groups. Drilling stocks are collectively up more than 40% during that period, with equipment makers showing a 28% gain and oil and gas field services operations up nearly that much.
Year to date, BP has outperformed XOM and CVX, gaining 11% in 2023. In early August, BP reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that were far worse than analysts expected. Quarterly profit fell 65% vs. last year with sales slumping 29%.
In early February, BP announced it would dial down aggressive renewables and emission-reduction targets in order to refocus on oil and gas production. The following week, BP stock jumped 20% — a significant snub to ESG messaging.
Meanwhile, oil prices are rebounding, with U.S. oil prices edging near the $90 per barrel level on Wednesday.
Early Wednesday, U.S. oil prices increased around 0.5% to $89.29 per barrel, hovering near 10-month highs. The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Wednesday said that production cuts from Saudi Arabia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) led to 2.5 million barrels a day being taken off the global market since the start of 2023. The IEA added strong supply from the U.S. and Brazil has mostly filled the deficit.
On Tuesday, OPEC reported global oil demand is expected to increase by 2.25 million barrels per day in 2024 and predicted a shortfall of 3.3 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The OPEC report sent many energy stocks higher Tuesday. ConocoPhillips is 2% below a 124.99 buy point while TotalEnergies broke out past a 65.05 entry Tuesday. Shell also advanced above a 63.69 buy point while ExxonMobil is 2% below a 119.92 entry.
Please follow Kit Norton on X, formerly known as Twitter, @KitNorton for more coverage.
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