Bernard Looney

Bernard Looney FREng (born 1970) is an Irish businessman and CEO of BP. Looney's tenure as CEO of BP has been controversial due to his and BP's relationship with Rosneft, the Russian state-owned energy giant, amid Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Looney was a member of Rosneft's board until February 2022.[2]

Bernard Looney

FREng
Born1970 (age 51–52)
County Kerry, Ireland
EducationUniversity College Dublin
Stanford Graduate School of Business
OccupationBusinessman
TitleCEO, BP
TermFebruary 2020-
PredecessorBob Dudley
Spouse(s)Jacqueline Hurst[1] (divorced in 2019)

Early life

Looney was born in County Kerry, and was raised on a small dairy farm in Ashgrove, near Kenmare. He was the first in his family to attend a university.[3][4] Looney earned a degree in electrical engineering from University College Dublin and a master's in management from Stanford Graduate School of Business.[4] Looney is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and a fellow of the Energy Institute.[4]

Career

Looney, who has spent his entire career at BP, worked in core production and drilling roles in the North Sea, Vietnam and Mexico, serving in other executive roles before taking over the upstream division in 2016.[5][3]

In October 2019, it was announced that Looney would succeed Bob Dudley as group chief executive[4] in February 2020.[6][7]

He sold BP shares worth £7.8 million in February and April 2019.[8][9][10]

Russia controversy

Looney, by virtue of his 20% stake in Moscow-based oil-producer Rosneft, sits alongside Igor Sechin, who serves as the chief executive officer, president and chairman of Rosneft's management board.[11][12] Sechin, who is a prominent member of the Silovik cabal,[13] and commands authority within the ranks of the Russia's FSB,[14] the surveillance-agency successor to the Soviet Union's KGB,[15] is widely known as the "de-facto deputy" to Vladimir Putin.[11]

On the eve of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Looney insisted that BP would continue to do business with Rosneft, the Russian state-owned company.[16] After Russia invaded Ukraine, Looney and BP refused to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[17]

On 25 February 2022, Looney was summoned to talks with the British Secretary of State for Business, Kwasi Kwarteng. The Government of the United Kingdom reportedly instructed Looney to relinquish BP's 20% stake in the Russian state-owned oil firm Rosneft,[18] which has strong ties to Russian oligarchs and the Kremlin,[19][20] in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. An official in Her Majesty's Government has described BP's dealings with Russia as "deeply unsatisfactory" and an "overexposure to Russian interests".[18]

Personal life

Looney lives in central London, England.[21]

References
  1. Millard, Rachel (1 February 2020). "Can a new leader really help oil giant BP navigate the climate crisis?". The Telegraph.
  2. "BP exiting stake in Russian oil and gas company Rosneft". San Francisco Chronicle. 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  3. "How this Kerry farmer's son is a rising star at oil giant BP". independent.
  4. Taylor, Charlie (4 October 2019). "Irishman Bernard Looney named as chief executive of BP". Irish Times. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  5. Millard, Rachel (1 February 2020). "Can a new leader really help oil giant BP navigate the climate crisis?". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  6. Meredith, Sam (4 October 2019). "BP CEO Bob Dudley to step down, Bernard Looney will succeed". CNBC. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  7. "BP chief executive Bob Dudley to retire, to be succeeded by Bernard Looney | News and insights | Home". BP global. Retrieved 22 October 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. "PRESS: New BP Chief Bernard Looney Sells Nearly GBP8 Million In Share". MorningstarUK. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  9. "Director/PDMR Shareholding". otp.investis.com.
  10. "Director/PDMR Shareholding". otp.investis.com.
  11. "BP's ties to Russia draw UK government 'concern'". the Guardian. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  12. Editor, Emily Gosden, Energy. "BP quizzed by minister over links to Russia". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 26 February 2022. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  13. "Igor Sechin: Rosneft's Kremlin hard man comes out of the shadows". the Guardian. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  14. "Russia: The FSB Branches Out". Stratfor. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  15. "Federal Security Service | Russian government agency | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  16. Gilchrist, Karen (14 February 2022). "BP sticking with Russia business, says Ukraine crisis is having 'no impact' on its operations". CNBC. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  17. "Government puts pressure on BP over Russian interests". The Independent. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  18. "Ukraine conflict: BP under pressure to sell stake in Russian firm". BBC News. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  19. Mark Thompson. "How Exxon, BP and Shell help Russia pump oil and gas". CNN. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  20. Foy, Henry (1 March 2018). "'We need to talk about Igor': the rise of Russia's most powerful oligarch". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  21. "How this Kerry farmer's son is a rising star at oil giant BP". Irish Independent. 28 October 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
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