LONDON, May 30, 2026, 11:23 BST
BP PLC’s shares head into the new week with a boardroom crisis still hanging over the stock, after a four-session slide tied to the removal of chairman Albert Manifold and a late Friday report of deeper internal clashes. The London Stock Exchange is closed on Saturday, putting the next market test at Monday’s open.
That matters now because Manifold had become part of the investment case for BP: a hard-driving chair seen by some shareholders as the figure pushing faster cost cuts, a simpler structure and a sharper turn back toward oil and gas. His exit has reopened the question of whether new CEO Meg O’Neill and interim leadership can keep the plan on track without more turmoil.
BP closed Friday at 521.80 pence, up 1.3% on the day, but down 5.3% from the previous Friday’s 551.20p close. The broader FTSE 100 fell about 0.5% over the same span, leaving BP as a clear laggard in a week shortened by the UK market holiday. Investor’s Chronicle Markets
BP removed Manifold on Tuesday, citing concerns over governance standards, oversight and conduct. Amanda Blanc, BP’s senior independent director, said the board was “surprised and disappointed” and had “taken decisive action,” according to a company statement cited by Reuters. Reuters
The story did not settle by Friday night. Reuters reported that the Wall Street Journal said Manifold had clashed with director Simon Henry earlier this year over the handling of sensitive talks linked to a potential deal; Reuters said it could not immediately verify the report and that BP, Manifold, Henry and former CEO Murray Auchincloss did not provide immediate comment.
Manifold has pushed back. In a Thursday statement, he denied misconduct, said he may have “pushed hard” for change, and described O’Neill and finance chief Kate Thomson as “brimming with integrity.” BP said it stood by its statements and had a duty of care to employees. Reuters
Analysts framed the damage in market terms. Henry Tarr at Berenberg called the ouster the latest in a wider run of leadership change. Citi’s Alastair Syme said Manifold was part of BP’s “equity story” — the market shorthand for why investors buy a stock. RBC Capital Markets’ Biraj Borkhataria said many investors had viewed him as BP’s “agent of change.” Reuters
The peer backdrop does not help BP much. Reuters said Friday that oil prices slipped nearly 2% on hopes of a U.S.-Iran ceasefire extension, while UK energy stocks posted their biggest monthly drop in a year; Shell and BP were mixed on the day. TotalEnergies, meanwhile, won shareholder approval on Friday to lift age limits for its chair and CEO roles, potentially allowing Patrick Pouyanne to stay in charge through 2033 — a clean continuity signal BP lacks just now. Reuters
Elliott Management also sits in the background. The activist investor — a shareholder that pushes companies to change strategy, governance or capital returns — disclosed last year that it owned more than 5% of BP, and Reuters has reported that Elliott wanted BP to cut costs, shift spending from renewables to oil and gas, and simplify the group. Manifold had sought to accelerate much of that reset.
For Monday and the week ahead, investors will be watching for three things: any further BP statement, any sign Manifold’s dispute becomes a longer legal fight, and whether the stock can recover ground if the oil tape steadies. There is no scheduled earnings catalyst to drown out the governance story.
But the downside is plain. If the row drags on, it risks distracting O’Neill just as BP is trying to prove it can execute after several years of strategic swings and senior departures. Morningstar’s Allen Good kept his fair value estimate unchanged, but said the episode raised more questions about BP’s board oversight and ability to execute.
For now, BP’s stock has moved from an oil-price trade to something less tidy. The market is asking whether this is a one-week governance flare-up, or another sign that BP’s turnaround still has too many people problems at the top.
