Who Is Meg O’Neill? BP’s CEO and Her Career
Last updated: October 16, 2026
Margaret “Meg” O’Neill is the Chief Executive Officer of BP p.l.c., one of the world’s largest integrated oil and gas companies. She took over on April 1, 2026, becoming the first woman to lead BP and one of the first to lead a major Western oil company, after five years as CEO of Australia’s Woodside Energy and more than two decades at ExxonMobil.
Current Position
| Role | Chief Executive Officer, BP p.l.c. |
| In role since | April 1, 2026 |
| Predecessor | Murray Auchincloss (resigned December 18, 2025); Carol Howle served as interim CEO |
| Based in | London, United Kingdom |
Education
O’Neill holds degrees in ocean engineering and chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. She grew up in Boulder, Colorado.
Career Timeline
| Period | Role |
|---|---|
| 2026–present | Chief Executive Officer, BP |
| 2021–2026 | Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Woodside Energy |
| 2019–2021 | Executive Vice President, Development, Woodside Energy |
| 2018–2019 | Chief Operations Officer, Woodside Energy |
| 2016 | Executive Advisor to the Chairman, Exxon Mobil Corporation |
| Prior to 2018 (more than two decades) | ExxonMobil — technical, operational and leadership roles in the United States, Indonesia, Canada and Norway, including Vice President, Africa, at ExxonMobil Development Company, overseeing major projects in Angola, Nigeria, Tanzania and Mozambique |
Exact start and end years for her earliest ExxonMobil roles were not independently disclosed in the sources reviewed; bios consistently describe 27 to 30 years of oil and gas experience before she joined BP. She joined Woodside Energy in 2018 as Chief Operations Officer, was appointed Executive Vice President, Development the following year, and became Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director on August 17, 2021. BP’s board named her as its next CEO in December 2025, and she took over on April 1, 2026, succeeding Murray Auchincloss.
Major Energy Decisions
At Woodside, O’Neill led the completion of the company’s 2022 merger with BHP’s petroleum business, which made Woodside the largest energy company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and expanded its international LNG portfolio, including the Scarborough project offshore Western Australia and the Trion development in Mexico. At BP, she has inherited the strategy reset launched by her predecessor in February 2025 under pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, including the plan to raise upstream oil and gas investment to roughly $10 billion a year through 2027, complete the sale of a 65% stake in the Castrol lubricants business to Stonepeak, and lift BP’s organic reserves replacement ratio to 100% by the end of 2027.
Board Memberships
O’Neill chairs Australian Energy Producers, the oil and gas industry body in Australia. Independently verified confirmation of any current non-executive board seats she holds outside BP in 2026 was not found in the sources reviewed.
Current Responsibilities
O’Neill leads BP’s overall strategy, capital allocation and operations across its upstream, Customers & Products, and Gas & Low Carbon Energy businesses, reporting to the board chaired by Albert Manifold. Her early priorities include completing the Castrol divestment, growing production from the Gulf of America and the Permian Basin, and advancing projects in Azerbaijan and Angola.
Related Entities
- BP — full company profile, ownership and major assets
- ExxonMobil — O’Neill’s employer for more than two decades before Woodside and BP
- Shell — fellow UK-headquartered integrated oil major
- United States Energy Profile — home to BP’s Gulf of America production base
Latest News
O’Neill’s appointment, announced by BP’s board in December 2025 and effective April 1, 2026, was widely covered as a milestone for a major Western oil company naming its first female chief executive. She inherits a business still working through the February 2025 strategy reset and the pending sale of a majority stake in Castrol, both launched under her predecessor.
Net Worth
No independently verified, reliable public estimate of O’Neill’s personal net worth is available. Her compensation as CEO will be disclosed in BP’s remuneration report, filed annually with UK regulators.
Sources
- BP p.l.c. newsroom — CEO appointment and leadership transition press releases (December 2025–April 2026)
- Al Jazeera, Hargreaves Lansdown, Energy Digital — coverage of O’Neill’s appointment as BP’s first female CEO (December 2025)
- Woodside Energy and Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) — biographical materials on O’Neill’s career and education
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Meg O’Neill?
Meg O’Neill is the Chief Executive Officer of BP p.l.c., a role she has held since April 1, 2026, after five years as CEO of Woodside Energy.
Is Meg O’Neill the first female CEO of BP?
Yes. Her appointment, effective April 1, 2026, made her the first woman to lead BP and one of the first to lead a major Western oil company.
What did Meg O’Neill do before BP?
She spent more than two decades at ExxonMobil in technical, operational and leadership roles before joining Woodside Energy in 2018, where she became CEO in 2021 and led its 2022 merger with BHP’s petroleum business.
Who did Meg O’Neill replace at BP?
She succeeded Murray Auchincloss, who stepped down as CEO on December 18, 2025; Carol Howle served as interim CEO before O’Neill took over.
Illustrative image. Photo: GRDN711, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons — source
