Albert Manifold, removed Tuesday as chairman of BP after roughly seven months in the post, told CNBC in an emailed statement Wednesday that he had been dismissed "without warning and without explanation" and disputes "entirely the characterisation" of his conduct by the British oil major's board.
The pushback escalates a governance crisis at one of Europe's largest energy companies into a public dispute between a sitting board and its own former chairman, and lands as BP is mid-pivot back toward oil and gas under new Chief Executive Meg O'Neill. London-listed BP shares fell as much as 9 percent Tuesday before paring losses to about 4 percent, and traded another 1.4 percent lower Wednesday morning.
What the board said
BP announced Manifold's removal with immediate effect on Tuesday, citing "serious concerns" related to governance standards, oversight and conduct, without elaborating. Amanda Blanc, the company's senior independent director, said the board had been "surprised and disappointed to learn of governance oversight and conduct issues it deems unacceptable and has taken decisive action." Multiple media outlets, citing anonymous sources, reported that Manifold had acted aggressively with colleagues during his short tenure, according to CNBC.
BP named Ian Tyler interim chair and said a search for a permanent successor is underway. Tyler said the board and leadership team have "deep conviction in the strategic direction we have laid out." The U.K. Serious Fraud Office and the Metropolitan Police Service both declined to comment to CNBC.
What Manifold said
In his Wednesday statement, the former chief of Irish building-materials group CRH said he had worked "to drive genuine change at BP - cutting costs, challenging excess, and holding the organisation to higher standards." He added: "I dispute entirely the characterisation of my conduct and I will not allow a false narrative to go unchallenged." A BP spokesperson, asked to respond, pointed CNBC back to the company's Tuesday statement.
A volatile boardroom
Manifold becomes BP's third chairman in under three years, and his exit follows the April 1 arrival of O'Neill, the former Woodside Energy boss, as the company's third CEO in the same span. He had drawn an unusually low 81.8 percent shareholder vote at last month's annual general meeting, after BP blocked a climate-resolution proposal from the Dutch activist group Follow This. Board members typically receive close to 100 percent support, and some activist investors had said even a 5 percent vote against Manifold would have marked a severe reprimand, particularly after a 24 percent vote against outgoing chair Helge Lund last year.
Lindsey Stewart, director of institutional investor content at Morningstar, told CNBC that BP has "the most volatile boardroom" of the oil supermajors and that "getting a grip on corporate governance and strategy at the company must be a priority of the interim chair and his eventual successor." Maurizio Carulli, global energy analyst at Quilter Cheviot, called the departure a surprise but noted that BP has cycled through senior leaders for two decades and that recent operational gains reflect "the successful efforts of the entire organisation and its management, not just of one person."
The counterpoint
Only two perspectives are on the record so far: BP's board statement and Manifold's emailed denial. BP has not detailed the specific conduct that prompted the dismissal, and Manifold has not specified which accusations he disputes. The investor and analyst commentary available in today's CNBC reporting accepts the board's account; no shareholder or director has publicly defended Manifold's position, and no broader institutional dissent had surfaced by Wednesday morning.
What comes next
The climate group ACCR has asked BP's board to provide "a full and transparent account" of what led to the removal, and Follow This said the next chair must bring "real expertise" in governance, climate risk and transition risk. BP has not given a timetable for naming a permanent successor.