BP's quarterly profit doubles to over $5 billion after Iran war oil surge

O'Neill, who took over as CEO in April, outlined on Tuesday five priorities for BP: further strengthening the balance sheet, simplifying the portfolio, tightening investment discipline, improving operational performance, and creating structures that enable faster decision-making and greater accountability.

"We are not making the most of our potential," O'Neill said. "Our performance over the past few years has not met our own expectations, let alone those of our shareholders. We have not delivered consistently; we have written off too much value; and our costs and liabilities are not resilient enough in a low price environment."

BP's priorities ultimately will be judged on execution, RBC analysts said in a note.

"Ownership of BP's historical failings is a good step forward for the investment case, and we look to the call for more clarity on the financial framework and tangible plans ahead," they said.