Former BP CEO takes over Wyoming data center developer, as first woman leader of Big Oil giant becomes new BP chief

Bernard Looney, whose tenure as CEO of BP ended with him embattled in controversy, is entering the AI age as the new CEO of Wyoming-based Prometheus Hyperscale, leading a bevy of data center campus developments in the Cowboy State as well as the Lone Star state of Texas.

Looney, who pushed BP toward renewables in the energy transition, resigned suddenly from that company’s CEO post in 2023 amid a probe by the company into undisclosed personal relationships. Since then, BP has struggled financially, cutting costs and pivoting away from renewables and back to fossil fuels.

Coincidentally, BP’s new CEO takes over April 1. Meg O’Neill, the former Woodside Energy head, becomes the first-ever woman CEO of a Big Oil giant.

Looney became non-executive chair of Prometheus in late 2024. He takes over as CEO from the company’s founder, Trenton Thornock, who will remain a board member.

Prometheus is primarily focused on two flagship data center projects in Wyoming...