Oil giant BP ousts chairman over 'conduct'

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BP has ousted its chairman over what it called serious concerns related to “important governance standards, oversight and conduct.”

The departure was abrupt and unexpected, with Albert Manifold having been appointed to the position just last year.

BP's board named Ian Tyler as interim chair on Tuesday, effective immediately.

The company said that it will begin the process of finding a permanent chair.

BP, based in London, is a “supermajor,” one of the five largest oil production and exploration companies in the world by revenue and profit.

The company maintains operations in about 60 countries.

Last year there were media reports that British oil giant Shell was in talks to buy rival BP. Shell denied the reports at the time.

Industry analysts have suggested that BP would be an attractive takeover target after a plan to shift its focus to renewable energy, which was abandoned earlier last year, left its shares undervalued in comparison to other oil companies.

BP has also struggled to recover from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, which killed 17 workers and forced the company to pay billions of dollars for environmental damage in the Gulf of Mexico.

Shares tumbled 6% before the opening bell on the NYSE.