Former Centrica boss in running to be next BP chair
The former boss of multinational energy firm Centrica is among those in talks to be the next chairman of BP.
Sam Laidlaw is being considered as a successor to Helge Lund, who announced he would step down from BP in April.
Laidlaw is one of a number of prominent candidates in the running to chair the £62bn oil major, including former chair of mining giant BHP, according to Sky News.
The search comes as BP faces shareholder pressure over the pace of its strategic transformation plans.
Activist investor Elliott Management took a multibillion pound slice in BP earlier this year and has pushed for the firm to ditch renewable energy commitments and move faster with cost-cutting.
BP faced a huge shareholder rebellion at its annual general meeting in April, where nearly a quarter voted against the re-election of Lund, as conflict intensified over the scrapping of climate goals.
Lund had played a key role in driving BP’s green agenda but will step down in April 2026. Climate investors used the opportunity of his re-election vote to stage a protest vote.
Laidlaw could be considered a front-runner for the role, due to his stint at British Gas-owner Centrica and experience with activist investors on the board of miner Rio Tinto.
Rivals eye BP’s valuation slump
The energy giant trimmed its quarterly share buyback in April after President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda sent oil prices tumbling.
BP cut its buyback to $750m (£559m), compared to $1.75bn the previous quarter.
The London-based faced difficulties as cash flow from operations slumped to the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2020, when the average price of oil was under $40.
Net debt also surged $4bn from the previous quarter.
Pressures have mounted after Elliott eyed free cash flow of $20bn by 2027, which is around 40 per cent higher than the company’s current goal.
But BP has also been caught in the centre of takeover speculation.
Shares in the embattled oil firm have continued to slump over the last 12 months, falling by nearly a fifth.
This has attracted the attention of rivals Shell and ExxonMobil, which have been reported to have been exploring potential takeovers following BP’s declining valuation.
Takeover talks are yet to have manifested into any official capacity.
