The remarks are among O’Neill’s clearest strategic statements since taking the helm in April, the first outsider CEO in BP’s more than 100-year history. They also represent a change of course for a company that helped define the modern supermajor. BP’s acquisitions of Amoco and ARCO between 1998 and 2000 ushered in a wave of industry consolidation, prompting rivals including Exxon and Mobil, Chevron and Texaco, and Total with Petrofina and Elf to combine into today’s oil giants.