BP shares plummet after unexpected sacking of board chief

Shares of British oil giant BP fell sharply on Tuesday, May 26, after the company's board of directors announced an unexpected decision to remove its chairman Albert Manifold, CNBC writes.

The company said in a statement that the decision to terminate Manifold's employment with "immediate" effect was made due to "serious concerns" regarding standards of corporate governance, controls and conduct. Details of the move were not disclosed.

"Albert [Manifold] helped set the much-needed focus and pace of BP's transformation. However, the board was surprised and disappointed to learn of management control and behavioral issues that it found unacceptable and took decisive action," said BP's senior independent director Amanda Blank, her words quoted in a company press release.

Manifold's post at BP will be temporarily taken over by another member of the company's board of directors - Ian Tyler. The process of searching for a permanent successor will begin soon, BP said.

Amid this news, shares of the British oil company on the London Stock Exchange on May 26 fell by 9% at the low, but then partially recovered the fall. At the time of publication, they are down 4%.

Manifold, who has served as BP's chairman since October, faced weak support at the April AGM. Although the majority of shareholders voted in favor of his candidacy (81.8%), this is an abnormally low figure for corporations of such a level: usually applicants receive approval close to 100%, CNBC explains. A board member is formally required to receive more than 50% of the votes to be approved for the position.

The British company, whose market capitalization is about £82 billion, has been in instability since 2020, when its management decided to transform BP into a green energy group, the FT notes. The company later reversed that decision, but the path to regaining leadership in the oil and gas industry has been fraught with frequent management reshuffles, the newspaper notes.

Last December, BP selected former Woodside Energy top executive Meg O'Neil as its new CEO in an attempt to stabilize the company's operations. She replaced Murray Auchincloss, who had been in the position for less than two years. Auchincloss succeeded Bernard Lunia, who in turn was fired as BP's CEO in 2023 - after he admitted to hiding the true extent of his past personal relationships with the company's employees. He became the third BP CEO to leave the company in scandal since 2007. John Browne resigned in 2007 after revelations that he lied to a British court, and Tony Hayward left his post in 2010 after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor