BP CEO Murray Auchincloss is stepping down a little over two years into the job, with Meg O'Neill, head of Australian multinational energy giant Woodside Energy, tapped as his replacement, the oil major said.
Why it matters: The exit announced Wednesday comes as BP — whose performance has lagged its Big Oil rivals — is undergoing an Auchincloss-led pivot back toward its core oil and gas business and scaling back green energy plans.
Seesawing government policy can wreak havoc on companies.
Exhibit A: Ford Motor Co., which has written off tens of billions in stranded investments over the past 15 years.
Why it matters: Big shifts in political power tend to lead to extreme regulatory swings, too, as policymakers try to steer consumer markets in one direction or another.
Why it matters: The Boulder lab is one of the world's leading institutions for Earth systems and climate research, playing a crucial role in weather forecasting and climate modeling, and its absence would significantly impact U.S. scientific capabilities.
Crude prices bounced upward early Wednesday from four-year lows following President Trump ordering a blockade of U.S. sanctioned oil tankers going in and out of Venezuela.
Why it matters: The risk of a disruption in supply has stopped — for now — a long slide that steepened this week.
Solar manufacturer T1 Energy has started building a $400 million to $425 million solar cell fabrication plant around 50 miles from Austin, Texas.
Why it matters: The move bolsters one trend — Texas as a growing clean tech hub — while showing confidence in market growth despite Trump 2.0's moves against renewables.
President Trump designated Venezuela a "foreign terrorist organization" Tuesday and formally ordered a blockade of all U.S. sanctioned oil tankers servicing the country.
Why it matters: Trump's newest escalation, backed by a giant U.S. armada, exerts unprecedented pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro's regime, threatening to bankrupt the country's already struggling economy.
Energy-focused private equity firm Kimmeridge has offered to buy Ascent Resources, an Oklahoma City-based natural gas company, for $6 billion in cash from Energy & Minerals Group (EMG) and First Reserve.
Why it matters: Ascent is at the center of a thorny legal battle between Abu Dhabi Investment Council and EMG, which wants to put Ascent into a continuation vehicle.
A new kind of AI-supercharged food recycler will turn fruit and vegetable scraps at Whole Foods into chicken feed — which will then help produce the grocer's own eggs.
Why it matters: The technology can shrink waste volumes by up to 80%, according to its maker, startup Mill, cutting greenhouse gas emissions from food waste and saving Whole Foods money.
