British energy major BP on Tuesday said annual net profit slid to $4 billion last year, as the firm battled weaker oil prices.
The figure was markedly down compared with profit after tax of $9.38 billion in 2018, the company said in a statement marking the end of long-time chief executive Bob Dudley’s time at the top.
It was announced in October that Bernard Looney, head of BP’s upstream division, would replace Dudley.
“After almost ten years, this is now my last quarter as CEO,” Dudley said in Tuesday’s statement.
“In that time, we have achieved a huge amount together and I am proud to be handing over a safer and stronger BP to Bernard and his team.
“I am confident that under their leadership, BP will continue to successfully navigate the rapidly-changing energy landscape,” Dudley added.
Towards the end of Dudley’s tenure, BP increasingly moved into cleaner energies, mirroring public consensus and government policies towards carbon emissions.
BP predicts that renewable sources could account for 15 percent of global energy consumption by 2040.
