BP has named Woodside Energy’s chief executive Meg O’Neill as its next CEO, setting up a high-profile leadership transition at one of the world’s best-known oil and gas majors—and forcing a rapid succession plan at Australia’s largest independent energy company.
The move, announced Wednesday, December 17, 2025, will see BP’s current chief executive Murray Auchincloss step aside this week, with BP executive Carol Howle taking the interim top job until O’Neill formally starts on April 1, 2026.
What BP announced on December 17, 2025
BP said Meg O’Neill—currently CEO and managing director of Woodside Energy—will become BP’s next chief executive effective April 1, 2026. Until then, BP executive vice president Carol Howle will serve as interim CEO.
Auchincloss, who became BP’s permanent CEO in January 2024 after serving as interim chief following Bernard Looney’s departure, will remain in an advisory role through December 2026 as the company manages the handover.
In its messaging around the change, BP’s chair Albert Manifold framed the transition as an opportunity to accelerate a push to make the company “simpler, leaner and more profitable,” while also signaling that the board believes more urgency is needed to unlock shareholder value. Fintel+2Wall Street Journal+2
O’Neill, for her part, struck an optimistic tone about what she’s inheriting, citing BP’s “extraordinary portfolio of assets” and arguing the company has room to “reestablish market leadership” and grow shareholder value. Reuters
Why this CEO move matters for BP right now
For BP, the appointment is notable on three levels: timing, optics, and strategic expectations.
First, the timing underscores a company still in transition. Auchincloss is stepping down after less than two years as permanent CEO, and the group is now set for an interim period of roughly three and a half months before O’Neill arrives in April 2026.
Second, it’s a rare external pick at the top. The Wall Street Journal noted that bringing in O’Neill breaks with BP’s tradition of promoting chief executives from within.
Third, the choice arrives amid investor and board pressure to improve returns. Over the past year, BP has been the target of sustained activist interest, including pressure from Elliott Investment Management, which disclosed a stake just over 5% earlier in 2025 and pushed for sharper structural and leadership changes, according to Reuters reporting at the time.
BP’s performance debate has also been shaped by the company’s earlier pivot toward renewables and subsequent pullback—an effort that left BP lagging peers, as major investors demanded tighter capital discipline, clearer priorities, and stronger cash returns.
Who is Meg O’Neill: ExxonMobil veteran and Woodside dealmaker
Meg O’Neill is best known in global energy circles for her tenure at Woodside, where she became CEO in 2021 and led the company through a period of major portfolio expansion and project execution.
Before Woodside, she spent 23 years at ExxonMobil in technical, operational, and senior leadership roles across multiple regions—experience BP’s board is emphasizing as it seeks operational discipline and sharper capital allocation.
At Woodside, O’Neill oversaw the company’s acquisition of BHP’s petroleum business—one of the most consequential oil-and-gas deals in Australia in recent years—and a series of investment decisions across LNG and upstream growth.
A historic first for BP’s top job
Multiple outlets describing the announcement said O’Neill will become BP’s first female chief executive—an important milestone for a company founded more than a century ago and historically led by internally developed executives.
Carol Howle becomes interim BP CEO: what to know
Carol Howle—currently BP’s executive vice president for supply, trading and shipping—will run the company day-to-day during the interim period until April 2026.
While interim CEOs are often positioned as “caretakers,” BP’s trading and shipping function is central to both earnings volatility and cash generation—particularly in global LNG, refined product trading, and supply optimization—making Howle’s stewardship a meaningful operational bridge before the new permanent CEO arrives.
The Woodside fallout: CEO resigns, acting CEO appointed immediately
O’Neill’s move to BP triggered an immediate leadership reshuffle at Woodside, one of the world’s largest independent LNG players and a key supplier into Asia.
Woodside said O’Neill resigned and accepted the BP CEO role, prompting the board to appoint Liz Westcott as acting CEO effective December 18, 2025.
In its succession statement, Woodside emphasized continuity and speed: the board said it intends to conclude a CEO search efficiently, with the aim of announcing a permanent appointment in the first quarter of 2026.
Woodside’s message: “continuity” and “disciplined decision-making”
Woodside chair Richard Goyder praised O’Neill’s tenure and described the company’s succession planning as well advanced, noting that internal candidates would be considered alongside external options.
The company also used the announcement to highlight operational priorities and major projects under development—signaling that the board does not want investor attention to drift toward uncertainty at the top.
What Woodside disclosed about O’Neill’s departure terms
Woodside’s statement included unusually specific detail on executive arrangements: it said O’Neill will continue to receive benefits under her contract through the end of a “gardening leave” period on March 30, 2026, while also noting that she would not be eligible for an FY2025 incentive and that unvested equity awards for prior years would lapse. Business Wire
For acting CEO Liz Westcott, Woodside said her acting CEO annual salary (including superannuation) will be A$1,803,000, including a higher duties allowance of A$600,000, and that incentive terms would be adjusted pro rata for FY2026 to reflect the higher salary.
Market reaction: shares edge higher as investors digest the change
Initial trading reactions suggested investors saw the leadership change as a catalyst moment—though broader market and oil-price dynamics also influence daily performance.
A market report referencing the announcement said BP shares closed up about 0.7% in London on Wednesday, while Woodside shares were roughly flat in Australia.
The bigger backdrop: BP’s strategy debate and investor pressure
The CEO transition lands in the middle of a long-running argument about what BP should be: a faster-moving energy transition champion, or a more traditional oil-and-gas cash machine with selective low-carbon investments.
In 2025, Reuters reporting detailed how activist investor Elliott pushed BP for changes including structural separation of business units and leadership adjustments.
Reuters also reported earlier in 2025 that BP’s shares had lagged rivals after its strategy revamp, a key data point investors have repeatedly cited in demanding clearer execution and stronger returns.
Against that backdrop, O’Neill’s resume—deep ExxonMobil operational grounding plus LNG-scale dealmaking at Woodside—reads like a board’s bet on tighter operational discipline and more rigorous capital allocation.
Timeline: what happens next at BP and Woodside
Here’s how the transition is currently expected to unfold:
- Thursday, December 18, 2025: Auchincloss is set to step down as CEO; Carol Howle becomes interim CEO.
- April 1, 2026: Meg O’Neill becomes BP CEO.
- Through December 2026: Auchincloss remains in an advisory role to support the transition.
- Woodside, December 18, 2025: Liz Westcott starts as acting CEO.
- Woodside, Q1 2026: Board aims to announce a permanent CEO appointment.
What investors will watch: strategy clarity, asset performance, and execution
Leadership transitions at global oil majors often come with a “grace period,” but BP’s situation suggests investors may look for tangible signals quickly—even before O’Neill arrives.
Key questions likely to dominate the next few months include:
- Will BP accelerate cost-cutting, divestments, or structural simplification? Management and the board have repeatedly emphasized simplifying the organization and improving profitability, and activists have pressed for bigger, faster moves.
- What role will trading and supply play during the interim period? With Carol Howle running BP temporarily, attention may turn to how the group manages volatility and cash generation through global commodity markets.
- How will Woodside maintain momentum on major projects while searching for a permanent CEO? Woodside is trying to limit uncertainty by installing an acting CEO immediately and committing to a Q1 2026 decision.
Bottom line
BP’s decision to appoint Meg O’Neill as its next CEO is more than a routine leadership change: it is a strategic signal aimed at resetting confidence in execution, capital discipline, and shareholder returns—while also marking a milestone as BP prepares to welcome its first female chief executive.
At the same time, the move forces a rapid succession process at Woodside, a key LNG heavyweight, where the board has moved to stabilize leadership immediately and promised a permanent CEO decision in the first quarter of 2026.
