Bernard Looney, the ex-CEO of BP who resigned abruptly last year, is engaging with industry leaders in the United Arab Emirates to discuss potential new projects.
The 53-year-old has had talks with Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, the CEO of the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), as well as Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser, as reported by the Financial Times.
These discussions reportedly center around the possibility of Looney contributing to state-backed investments, though not taking a position within Adnoc.
An Adnoc spokesperson stated that no discussions had taken place with Looney, but did not confirm or deny talks with Jaber, who also serves as the UAE’s industry minister and chair of Masdar, the nation’s leading renewable energy company.
Looney has chosen not to comment on these engagements.
The former BP chief stepped down from his role in September of the previous year after the company’s board determined he had not been “fully transparent” regarding his professional relationships. He had initially disclosed a “small number of historical relationships with colleagues,” which the board found acceptable at first.
However, as new allegations surfaced about Looney’s interactions with other staff, BP initiated a further investigation into his conduct. The findings indicated that he failed to provide full disclosure about all relationships and acknowledged the need for more complete honesty.
As a consequence of this “serious misconduct,” Looney lost up to £32.4 million in salary and bonuses, having been found to have “knowingly misled the board.”
Since his resignation, Looney has remained silent publicly, aside from a statement expressing disappointment over how the matter was handled.
Last year, he defended Jaber when environmental advocates criticized the UAE for appointing the head of its state oil company to lead the Cop28 climate talks. In a June commentary in the Financial Times, he suggested that to achieve a truly transformative Cop28, support should be rallied behind nations taking substantial climate action.
BP and Adnoc have enjoyed a collaborative relationship for 50 years, engaging in multiple joint ventures. These include a new gas exploration partnership in Egypt and Adnoc acquiring a 25 percent stake in BP’s blue hydrogen production initiative on Teesside.
In April, reports surfaced that Adnoc had contemplated making a takeover bid for BP, along with other strategies such as acquiring an equity interest, although these discussions did not advance beyond initial stages.
In the stock market, BP shares decreased by 7.5p, translating to a decline of 1.6 percent, settling at 474p.