BP’s new boss to overhaul structure after retreat from green strategy

Meg O’Neill to return to upstream and downstream divisions after shift away from low carbon push BP’s new boss has set out plans to reinstate the company structure the fossil fuel supermajor ditched six years ago as part of its failed attempt to reorganise the business to pursue a green agenda. Meg O’Neill told staff that the 117-year-old company would return to a “simpler, stronger” two-business arrangement including an upstream oil and gas production unit and a downstream business focused on refining and distributing fuels and retail activities. “In service of becoming a simpler, stronger, more valuable BP, we intend to build an organisation with a clear upstream and downstream,” O’Neill said. The planned overhaul is the latest step in dismantling the legacy of former chief executive Bernard Looney who in 2020 restructured BP to include a gas and low-carbon energy division as part of a wide-ranging mission to “reimagine” BP as a green energy company. The green agenda raised concerns among BP’s investor base, and made the company a target of activist investor Elliott Management, which called for BP to return its focus to fossil fuels and simplify its structur