BP picks Norwegian Lund as chairman

LONDON: British energy giant BP on Thursday announced the appointment of industry veteran Helge Lund as its new chairman, replacing long-serving Carl-Henric Svanberg who is stepping down after eight years.

"I am delighted that Helge Lund is to be BP's next chairman," Svanberg said in a statement.

"Our industry is changing faster than ever as the world focuses on meeting the dual challenge of more energy with fewer emissions," he added.

Lund, 55, briefly served as chief executive of British energy company BG Group before its merger with Royal Dutch Shell.

He had joined BG from Norwegian giant Statoil, where he served as chief executive for a decade until 2014.

Lund takes up his new position on January 1 next year.