BP has ousted its chairman over what it called serious concerns related to “important governance standards, oversight and conduct.”
The departure was abrupt and unexpected, with Albert Manifold having been appointed to the position late last year.
“Albert has helped bring a welcome focus and pace to BP’s transformation," Amanda Blanc, senior independent director, said in a statement Tuesday. "However, the board has been surprised and disappointed to learn of governance oversight and conduct issues it deems unacceptable and has taken decisive action.”
BP's board named Ian Tyler as interim chair, effective immediately.
The search for a new chair is underway, BP said.
BP, based in London, is a “supermajor,” one of the five largest oil production and exploration companies in the world by when measured by revenue and profit.
The company maintains operations in about 60 countries.
Manifold, who had been the top executive at the global building materials company CRH, based in Dublin, for 10 years, became the chair at BP in October.
Last year there were media reports that British oil giant Shell was in talks to buy rival BP. Shell denied the reports at the time.
Industry analysts have suggested that BP would be an attractive takeover target after a plan to shift its focus to renewable energy, which was abandoned earlier last year.
The company recently did a hard reset and returned to its roots after it had shifted its focus to renewable energy in 2020. The decision has been criticized by some shareholders and environmentalists.
CEO Murray Auchincloss said last year that optimism over opportunities in renewable energy was misplaced, with the company moving “too far and too fast.”
Auchincloss stepped down in December, and the company named Meg O'Neill as his successor.
BP has also struggled to recover from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon tragedy, one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. The explosion killed 11 workers and forced the company to pay billions of dollars for environmental damage in the Gulf of Mexico.
More recently, like other oil companies, BP has struggled with falling demand in recent years.
BP’s 2025 earnings fell 16% from a year earlier to $7.49 billion as the price of Brent crude, a benchmark for international oil prices, dropped 16.9%. The company’s preferred measure of earnings is underlying replacement cost profit, which adjusts for one-time items and fluctuations in the market value of inventories. Net income plunged 86% to $55 million.
Shares of BP Plc slid 4% before the opening bell on the NYSE.
Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.
FILE - A BP fuel sign is seen, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, in Marietta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, file)
LONDON (AP) — Temperature records toppled as a spring heat wave continued to scorch parts of Western Europe on Tuesday, triggering government warnings about risks to life. Several drownings were reported in Britain and France as people tried to cool down.
London recorded a rare “tropical night,” defined as one in which the temperature does not fall below 20 Celsius (68 Fahrenheit), and Britain’s Met Office weather service said the temperature in southern England could reach 35 C (95 F) on Tuesday.
Monday was the U.K.’s hottest May day on record, with the temperature hitting 34.8 C (94.6 F) at Kew Gardens in London, smashing the previous record of 32.8 C (91.4 F) set in 1922 and 1944. Records also fell in France, where temperatures reached 36 C (97 F) on Monday in the country's southwest and widely remained above 20 C (68 F) at night.
The national weather service, Météo-France, said a “heat dome,” with heat held in place by a high-pressure weather front, was producing temperatures more than 10 degrees Celsius above what used to be usual for this time of year.
Unpredictable and extreme weather are becoming more frequent as Earth’s warming builds. Experts say unprecedented and deadly weather extremes that sometimes strike at abnormal times and in unusual places are putting more people in danger.
After a U.K. long weekend that sent people flocking to beaches, pools and shady parks, London commuters sweltered on Tuesday in subway carriages without air conditioning. Trains to and from the busy Waterloo station were disrupted by a report of smoke on the tracks.
In Scotland, firefighters worked through the night to douse a grass fire that sent smoke billowing from Arthur’s Seat, the rocky hill that looms over Edinburgh.
The U.K. Health Security Agency issued an amber health alert for large parts of the country through Thursday, warning of a potential health risk, particularly among older people, at the hottest times of the day. The U.K. is used to moderate temperatures, and many homes, schools and businesses do not have air conditioning.
At least three teenagers died in apparent drownings in U.K. lakes and reservoirs, and a 60-year-old man died in the sea in southwest England, authorities said.
French government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said there have been reports of at least seven deaths potentially related to high temperatures, including five drownings and two deaths in sports competitions.
The early heat wave has struck before the annual summer window when lifeguards watch over bathers at popular beaches, increasing risks.
On France’s Atlantic seaboard, where magnificent beaches have powerful riptides, officials reported a rash of emergencies in the surf, with two drowning deaths on Sunday at popular resorts in the Gironde region in the southwest.
The top regional administrator, Sophie Brocas, urged beachgoers “to exercise the utmost caution.”
The unseasonable heat extended to Spain, where weather service spokesperson Rubén del Campo said "we find ourselves with temperatures we normally see in the middle of the summer now in the month of May.”
He said Seville hit 38 C (100 F) over the weekend, while large parts of the Iberian Peninsula saw temperatures 5 to 10 degrees Celsius higher than normal.
And in Rome, temperatures were expected to reach 32 degrees C (89.6 F) on Tuesday.
Associated Press writers John Leicester in Paris and Joseph Wilson in Barcelona, Spain, contributed to this report.
People visit Bournemouth beach, south England, Monday May 25, 2026. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)
A woman shelters from the sun with a city guide in downtown Rome as temperatures are expected to reach 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 Fahrenheit), Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
A woman drinks water from a frozen bottle in downtown Rome as temperatures are expected to reach 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 Fahrenheit), Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
A man drinks water at a fountain in downtown Rome as temperatures are expected to reach 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 Fahrenheit), Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
People enjoying the warm weather on Sunny Sands beach in Folkestone, England, Saturday May 23, 2026. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
A speed boat passes by the Conciergerie along the Seine River during a sunny day in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
People seek relief from the heat along the Seine River in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. Artwork by street artist JR is seen on the Pont Neuf in the background. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
A man cools down with a bottle of water during the hot weather on Westminster Bridge, central London, England, Monday, May 25, 2026. (James Manning/PA via AP)
People visit Bournemouth beach, south England, Monday May 25, 2026. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)
