OIL GIANT BP has named its new chief executive after weeks of speculation.

Murray Auchincloss takes the helm at a time when the company is unquestionably trailing its competitors, most notably concerning share price health, but also a definitive long-term plan.

That didn't stop Auchincloss from declaring in 2022 that the firm was sitting on more cash than it knew what to do with after wholesale energy prices spiked.

Helge Lund, chairman of the BP board of directors, said 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.

Auchincloss was the chief financial officer of BP from mid-2020 until former chief executive Bernard Looney's departure in September last year.

He is also a director of Aker BP ASA, a main committee member of The 100 Group, and a member of the European Round Table for CFOs.

In its 113-year history, BP has never appointed an outsider to the top job and Auchincloss keeps that trend alive.

Like Looney, he also is in a relationship with a BP colleague, the key difference being that the company says that Auchincloss' relationship does not represent a breach of BP's code of conduct and had been "fully and appropriately disclosed" to the group.

Auchincloss' pay includes an annual salary of £1.45m; provisions relating to bonus opportunity, bonus deferral, and performance shares under BP's 2023 remuneration policy as approved by shareholders; and a cash allowance instead of pension equal to 20 per cent of base salary.

Then serving as the firm's finance boss, Auchincloss told analysts in February 2022: "It is possible that we are getting more cash than we know what to do with."

It is widely accepted that the new chief executive is regarded well by investors and senior stakeholders.

Having served in the interim role since Looney's departure, appointing anyone other than Auchincloss would seem to be unwise, said Mike Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.

"He was interim CEO, knows the company, knows the business and knows the strategy so why would they choose someone else when the global energy market is in a state of flux?" he told City A.M.

(c) 2024 City A.M., source Newspaper