BP (NYSE:BP) CEO Murray Auchincloss is being replaced after less than two years in the role, as the British oil major appointed Woodside Energy’s Meg O’Neill as its new top boss on Wednesday.

O’Neill First Woman In The Job

BP’s head of trading, Carol Howle, will serve as interim chief executive until O’Neill, who has led Australian energy firm Woodside Energy since 2021, takes up her new role on April 1, the company said in a statement.

O’Neill, a U.S. citizen, will become BP's third CEO in five years and the first woman in the top job in the company’s 116-year history.

She spent 23 years at ExxonMobil in technical, operational, and leadership positions around the world before joining Woodside Energy in 2018. Since she was appointed CEO in 2021, O'Neill has been credited with growing the company into the largest energy company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, ...