16th Jan 2024 21:28
(Alliance News) - Directors of BP PLC were meeting on Tuesday evening to finalise the appointment of Murray Auchincloss, the company's acting chief executive, as its permanent boss, according to a report.
Sky News said that the FTSE-100 oil major's board has gathered at a central London hotel to agree the details of Auchincloss's appointment as the successor to Bernard Looney.
The decision is likely to be announced later on Tuesday or before the London stock market opens on Wednesday morning, Sky said.
https://news.sky.com/story/bp-close-to-naming-acting-ceo-auchincloss-as-permanent-chief-13049798
Auchincloss has served on the company's board for about four years, having been appointed as finance chief under Looney.
He is understood to have enjoyed strong support from institutional shareholders in BP during the recruitment process run by Helge Lund, the company's chair, Sky said.
In December, BP said Looney has been dismissed without notice after concluding he had "knowingly misled the board".
The oil major said Looney will receive no further salary, pension allowance or benefits from the date of his dismissal.
In total, BP said, the total maximum value of the potential remuneration that has been forfeited or clawed back is GBP32.4 million.
BP explained that in 2022 the board sought assurances regarding disclosure of Looney's past personal relationships with company colleagues and his future behaviour.
Looney gave these assurances to the board in July 2022, but in his September resignation informed the company that he had not been fully transparent in those assurances.
BP said it had concluded that Looney, by providing inaccurate and incomplete assurances in July 2022, had knowingly misled the board.
"The board has determined that this amounts to serious misconduct, and as such Mr Looney has been dismissed without notice effective on December 13," the firm said.
Shares in BP closed down 0.5% in London on Tuesday.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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