bp announced on Wednesday that its interim CEO Murray Auchincloss had been appointed to the position on a permanent basis, a move widely expected by the financial community.

Group CFO since 2020, Murray Auchincloss had taken the reins of bp on a temporary basis last September following the abrupt resignation of Bernard Looney, an investigation having revealed that he had had personal relationships with colleagues.

From our point of view, this is the best possible decision for shareholders in the short term, bearing in mind that this choice ensures continuity in the investment file", RBC analysts were pleased to report this morning.

Between 2010 and 2013, Auchincloss served as Chief of Staff to the Executive Board, working closely with then CEO Bob Dudley.

'An external candidate would have brought more uncertainty to the future direction of the company, and potentially generated more questions around a change in strategy', adds RBC.

Helge Lund, Chairman of the Board of Directors, points out that the appointment was made unanimously following a 'thorough and highly competitive process' which began last September and led to the consideration of several 'high profile' candidates.

On the London Stock Exchange, bp shares were down 0.9% following this announcement, outperforming the STOXX Europe 600 Oil & Gas sector index, down 1.6%.

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