BP

Meg O’Neill will take over as BP CEO on April 1, 2026. She will be the first woman to lead a Western major, an external hire and a US citizen. 

O’Neill is currently CEO of Woodside Energy, which she turned into Australia’s leading energy company, with a strong focus on LNG. Former ExxonMobil executive for over 20 years, she brings a pure upstream, scale-driven and capital-disciplined mindset.

The Board is openly acknowledging that repeated “strategy resets” are no longer enough. Under pressure from Elliott (~5% stake), BP is now focused on measurable outcomes: ROCE, cash flow and operational credibility.

Market expectations include:

• continued refocus on oil & gas,
• upstream-led capex of around $10bn per year,

• $20bn of asset sales by 2027 to strengthen the balance sheet,

• ongoing $4-5bn cost-cutting program.

Production is targeted to reach ~2.5 mboepd by 2030, driven by the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil and the Middle East.

O’Neill’s appointment reinforces the case for a credible BP comeback via execution, while keeping optionality open on consolidation or further asset sales if value creation does not accelerate.

Good short and mid-term market reaction expected.

Our expert agrees with our analyst and sees that as good news and the new CEO has a strong track record in the industry. Of course, there is a concern that some green funds may have to exit BP due to the shift towards more oil and less renewables, hence creating some selling pressure. Yet he sees that as a marginal impact. Indeed, what matters is the financial return and by focusing on clear financial metrics (ROCE and CF generation), investors will be able to focus more on what matters: financial returns. 

On a separate matter, we have released a short note on the Libyan oil market, which is a quick yet very interesting read.