BP chief O'Neill pledges tighter capital discipline amid debt concerns

BP's new chief executive, Meg O'Neill, told investors that the company has written off excessive value and remains the most leveraged oil major for over a decade. She emphasized that cutting debt will continue to dominate the agenda and dismissed any prospect of raising capital expenditures. O'Neill also said the firm will not restart share repurchases until the balance sheet improves, but offered no specific timetable.

Since taking the helm, she has overseen the disposal of underperforming assets, a flatter organisational structure and the appointment of a new chairman. Recent actions include the sale of the Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany, plans to sell the North Sea business, and the intended divestiture of Archaea Energy, a biogas unit bought in 2022. The company posted a Q2 profit of $3.91 billion, up from $1.62 billion a year earlier, while net debt fell to $22.25 billion from $25.3 billion three months earlier.