By Macson Obojemuinmoin
The CEO of BP has lamented that the company’s operational delivery fell short of the expected performance in the second quarter of 2026.
Meg O’Neill said that the UK major’s plants didn’t run as well as they did in the previous quarter – upstream plant reliability was 92.4%, compared to 95.7%, and production was down and the refineries processed less crude.
“This was due, in part, to planned maintenance and the conflict in the Middle East, but this is a reminder that we have more to do to deliver consistent operational performance”, she declared in a terse message accompanying the second quarter and half year 2026 report.
“We are not making the most of our potential”, charged the American business executive, who took the job in April 2026. “Our performance over the past few years has not met our own expectations, let alone those of our shareholders. We have not delivered consistently; we have written off too much value; and our costs and liabilities are not resilient enough in a low price environment”.
O’Neill, who joined BP from Woodside, the Australian operator, said that she had, in her three months in the role, “spent time with BP’s teams on the frontline and met investors, business partners, governments and other key stakeholders. In four months, I’ve seen enough to know this company can be extraordinary – from our high-quality assets to our integrated model, deep capabilities, strong partnerships and exceptional people”.
Her job, she explained, is to help make BP the best it can be. “We need to take a clear look at ourselves: assessing what needs to change, stopping what holds us back and building strength where it matters. We have to get fit to grow”
To deliver a step change in performance, in her view, Ms. O’Neill lays out five priorities:
- Strengthening the balance sheet. This quarter we reduced the total of net debt, hybrids, leases and Gulf of America settlement liabilities by more than 11% compared to last quarter. That is still not enough – we need to do more. Financial resilience provides greater flexibility to invest to grow through the cycle and reward our shareholders.
- Simplifying the portfolio based on value, not sentiment nor history. BP has to focus on the assets with the strongest potential to deliver competitive returns and long-term value – just as it has done with its decisions on the North Sea and Archaea.
- Investing with greater discipline to ensure every dollar of capital competes. BP’s decision to sell Bay du Nord and free up the capital, shows that discipline in action. The company must keep challenging itself, using its balanced investment criteria to make decisions rooted in profitability, cash generation and market realities.
“I am very clear on this, we need to compete in the weight class we are in”.
- Driving operational excellence. BP needs to run its assets safely, reliably and with greater cost efficiency. The company has made progress on reducing structural costs, but it has not improved enough where it matters most: the bottom line. BP needS to move faster, and it has both the opportunity and the technology to do this. Operational excellence is also about working safely with people, communities and the environment; it helps BP work to deliver energy that is secure, affordable and lower-carbon, where it makes business sense – and it is how BP will make itself more competitive.
- Hardwiring high-performance and accountability into BP.
“We must make better, faster decisions, reduce complexity and sharpen accountability. Last month, we moved to an Upstream and Downstream organization, supported by our world-class trading business. This integrated model is a competitive advantage and an important first step”.
