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China Petrochemical News, April 30, 2026 Meg O'Neill officially took over bp on April 1. This century-old oil company welcomed its first female CEO. The current situation in the Middle East has pushed up oil prices, providing her with some buffer space, but the real challenge lies in restructuring the upstream business. Investors have clearly requested bp to focus on its most advantageous deepwater assets, especially projects in the United States and Brazil. bp's proven oil reserves can only sustain production for about 7 years, which is at a low level among large oil companies. Successful exploration in deep water fields is crucial to the replacement of its reserves. The highlight of the company's upstream projects in recent years is the Bumerangue discovery in Brazil, with a preliminary estimated resource size of 1.35 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Brazil's presalt oil fields are known for their low break-even costs and high production, making them one of the most economically attractive areas for deepwater development in the world. Investors hope O'Neill will simplify the company's structure, cut low-return businesses and focus capital on core deepwater assets. Shareholders generally believe that bp should gradually divest itself of traditional assets such as North Sea oil fields and instead increase investment in deepwater high-potential areas such as Brazil and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. BP's exploration performance has stood out among its peers over the past year, gaining long-term growth momentum with a series of deepwater discoveries. O'Neill has accumulated rich experience in deepwater project management during her time at Woodside Energy, and investors expect her to once again boost bp's industry influence. Analysts pointed out that if O'Neill can reshape bp's upstream business structure, deepwater assets will be her most important trump card.