Embattled BP replaces CEO, naming Woodside Energy chief as first-ever woman leader of a Big Oil giant

Embattled BP made a dramatic CEO change Wednesday as it hired Woodside Energy leader Meg O’Neill as the first-ever woman CEO of a Big Oil giant.

O’Neill is a Colorado native and Exxon Mobil veteran who grew Australia’s Woodside into a much bigger global natural gas player with expansions into the U.S. She is taking over the British energy behemoth at a time when it has fallen behind the other global oil and gas supermajors and was even a potential takeover target earlier this year by rival Shell.

Current BP CEO Murray Auchincloss is stepping down immediately on Thursday but will serve in an advisory role through all of 2026, BP announced....