BP’s new CEO Meg O’Neill rips up the energy giant’s playbook—and the ‘green’ era with it

New CEO Meg O’Neill is rapidly reshaping BP, scrapping the “low carbon energy” unit and simplifying the company into two core segments — upstream (oil & gas production/trading) and downstream (refining/pipelines) — to refocus on fossil fuels.
The move comes amid leadership turmoil: chairman Albert Manifold was abruptly ousted for “unacceptable” conduct, Ian Tyler is interim chair, and BP has seen three CEOs and three chairmen in three years.
O’Neill — an American former Exxon and Woodside executive — is notable as the only woman leading a traditional Big Oil supermajor in Europe or the U.S., and is positioning BP to respond to investor pressure and higher oil prices.