BP''s chief executive Tony Hayward resigned on Tuesday, claiming to have been "demonised and vilified" over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster that is set to cost the British group 32 billion dollars. Hayward, whose PR gaffes made him a target of US fury, will be succeeded by Bob Dudley, who is in charge of BP''s Gulf clean-up operations and who has vowed to "change the culture" of how the company tackles safety issues.
BP on Tuesday said it had made a record 16.9-billion-dollar loss in the second quarter, and will sell 30 billion dollars of assets over the next 18 months as it seeks to return to profitability. "This is a very sad day for me personally," Hayward told a conference call. "Whether it is fair or unfair is not the point. I became the public face and was demonised and vilified. BP cannot move on in the US with me as its leader." Hayward added: "Sometimes you step off the pavement and get hit by a bus."
The troubled firm was pushed into the red by the 32.2 billion dollars (24.7 billion euros) set aside to pay for the costs of the spill - which was the worst environmental disaster in US history. BP and Hayward have been mauled by Washington since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers and unleashing millions of gallons of crude into the sea and onto the US Gulf coast.
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