The next chapter

After nearly 10 years in the job, I carried out my final duty as BP’s chief executive today with the announcement of our earnings for 2019.

I’m pleased to say that these latest numbers are pretty good. They show the business is in excellent shape and the trend continues of strong performance delivered every quarter since we refreshed our strategy in 2017.

Actually, I’d say the improving resilience and strength in our performance goes back a lot further than 2017. BP today is a very different BP to October 2010, when I took on the job. That is all down to the effort and commitment of 73,000 remarkable people on the BP team.

Back then, the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon incident threatened BP’s future. We came together, as a team, and we dealt with it. Together, we focused on putting things right in the Gulf of Mexico and stabilising our business. We made changes to avoid anything like it happening again.

The progress we’ve made on safety since then makes me proudest of all. In fact, we closed out 2019 with our best performance ever on personal safety.

We also changed BP in other ways. We became more efficient, more adaptable and more modern. We also devoted a lot of time to the values of the company – Safety, Respect, Excellence, Courage and One Team. Everywhere I go now, meeting my colleagues, I see those values alive and well and in action. They are what makes BP great.

Our culture is strong, and so is our balance sheet. We have a first-class portfolio of assets and good relationships around the world.

That is a solid basis for the next chapter in BP’s long history. Bernard Looney takes over tomorrow, and I know he’s going to do a great job. You may already be getting a sense of that if you’re following him here on LinkedIn.

He is a remarkable leader and exactly the right person for the role that BP needs to play in advancing a rapid low carbon transition. He knows the company inside out, having worked for BP since he graduated from university, and has a proven track record of delivery. But he is far from your typical oil executive. He’s fired up about making energy cleaner and better, uncompromising on inclusivity and on a mission to tackle the stigma of mental health.

Bernard will be setting out his vision for the future of BP in a webcast on the 12th February and I recommend everyone on here tune in for that. I’m really excited about his plans for BP and I hope you will be too.

I’ve seen a lot of change in the energy system over my 40-year career. It’s about to change further and faster than ever, and I will definitely be watching with keen interest.

But for now, that’s all from me on here. Thank you to all of you who have followed me and to the staff and stakeholders at BP – it has been a pleasure and an honour.