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BP CEO resigns after allegedly not disclosing all colleague relations

BP boss Bernard Looney will be temporarily replaced by the company's Chief Financial Officer Murray Auchincloss, the company said.
Bernard Looney the CEO of oil and gas company BP.
Posted at 10:09 PM, Sep 12, 2023

The chief executive officer for London-based oil and gas giant BP, Bernard Looney, has resigned after the company said he allegedly did not disclose all of his past relationships with colleagues. 

In a statement the company said Looney would be temporarily replaced by BP's Chief Financial Officer Murray Auchincloss.

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The results of an investigation in 2022 revealed a statement made by Looney in which he acknowledged “a small number of historical relationships with colleagues” before he was made CEO. 

BP later said it received information that sparked an additional investigation. 

The company said Looney "did not provide details of all relationships and accepts he was obligated to make [a] more complete disclosure."

Looney is said to have informed BP that he was not fully transparent during a previous probe into his background at the company. 

“The company has strong values and the board expects everyone at the company to behave in accordance with those values," BP said in their statement. 

The company is now without a CEO during a time when the oil and gas industry is facing an evolution in the way things are powered as countries try to find low-carbon energy alternatives. 

Looney has reportedly been one of the loudest voices among oil and gas CEOs pushing for a more expeditious transition into a new lower-carbon energy business environment.