BP plc Chairman Peter Sutherland acknowledged Thursday that the past couple of years have been “one of the most varied and probably turbulent [periods] in the company’s history, but he said the London-based producer will continue to take risks as it moves forward.

“We have seen the group face, and continue to face, a series of regulatory issues in the U.S. — a perfect storm, if you like, but mostly of our own making,” Sutherland said at the company’s annual meeting. “As the company faces more and varied challenges so must we, as a board, up our own game.” It would be “all too easy” for the company’s board to become “ultra cautious and risk averse,” he said, but “this is not the nature of BP…We must learn what we need to learn. But we must also make sure that we are able to spot the opportunities to take this company forward wherever in the world they may arise.”

CEO John Browne, who is retiring from BP in July after 40 years, including 12 years as chief, said he is confident BP is moving in the right direction. Browne, 59, announced his retirement in January; he originally said he planned to retire at the end of 2008 (see NGI, Jan. 15).

“It is a progressive company, willing, where necessary, to learn from mistakes,” said Browne. He said the explosion at BP’s Texas City, TX, refinery in March 2005, which killed 15 people, “was the saddest and darkest day in my working life at BP.”

BP, and especially Browne, have come under fire for several other incidents, including a major oil spill at its Prudhoe field in 2006, and a continuing federal investigation into trading irregularities in the propane, oil and gasoline markets (see NGI, Sept. 11, 2006).

Sutherland took some heat from investors over Browne’s retirement package Thursday; 17% of the shareholders voted against it. Browne will retire from BP with a $10.5 million (5.3 million pound) retirement package and a $42.9 million (21.7 million pound) pension. He also will receive millions of company shares under an incentive program over the next three years.

Sutherland, known to have had strong disagreements with Browne, said he had enjoyed working with him. “As in any relationship we have had our occasional ups and downs,” Sutherland said, but “we have worked together for nearly as long as he has been CEO, and for me it has been an invigorating and rewarding experience.”

Questioned about the executive pay package given BP’s total shareholder return, which one shareholder said was lower than its peers, Sutherland replied that BP’s earnings per share in 2006 were actually higher in percentage terms than its peers. He also noted that BP’s dividend growth in the past two years was higher than competitors.

BP’s senior executive bonuses have been cut in half because of concerns about the company’s safety record, Sutherland noted. He added that only 30% of the maximum potential shares were awarded to executives this year, which was lower than the 37.5% of the maximum shares awarded in 2006.

©Copyright 2007Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news reportmay not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in anyform, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.