BP has named Carol Howle as its deputy chief executive and assigned her oversight of the company's ongoing portfolio review and the development of long-term strategy. Howle will also reassume her previous role as head of supply, trading and shipping.
Howle served as interim chief executive prior to Meg O’Neill starting as chief executive on Wednesday. In her new deputy role, Howle will direct BP’s strategy and sustainability team, which will report to her, and will be responsible for shaping strategy beyond the company's 2027 targets, O’Neill said in a statement.
The appointment occurs as BP continues a notable strategic shift. The company moved back toward a primary focus on oil and gas about a year ago after what the company has characterised as an ill-fated investment path into renewable energy. Since then, BP has reduced planned investment in renewable projects by billions of dollars, pledged to divest $20 billion of assets by 2027, and committed to lowering both debt and costs.
Financial progress to date includes a reduction in net debt to $22 billion from $26 billion in the fourth quarter of the prior year. BP reiterated its target range for net debt of $14 billion to $18 billion by the end of 2027.
BP’s chair, Albert Manifold, who assumed the chair role in October, has indicated that some assets held by the company may be of greater value to other owners. Manifold took the chair position before Murray Auchincloss unexpectedly left the chief executive position in December.
Howle has spent 25 years at BP. Her remit as deputy will encompass the portfolio review process and long-term strategic planning that extend beyond the firm’s stated 2027 objectives, according to the company statement.
Meg O’Neill is notable as the company’s first external hire to the chief executive role in more than a century and the first woman to lead a top-five oil major. BP has previously had a deputy chief executive - Lamar McKay held the position beginning in 2016 under then-chief executive Bob Dudley.
Contextual note: The company continues to execute on divestments, debt reduction and cost cutting as part of its repositioning toward oil and gas and away from previously planned renewables expansion.