BP Plc is expected to install an American trouble-shooter as chief executive in the next 24 hours, replacing Tony Hayward, who has come under fire for his handling of the worst oil spill in US history. Bob Dudley, the US executive managing the response operation to the spill in the Gulf of Mexico, is poised to get the top job in a move that could soften US-led attacks on the British oil major, sources close to the company say.
Shares in BP, which has lost 40 percent of its market capitalisation since the April 20 blast that caused the spill, had risen 2.5 percent to 408.5 pence by 1254 GMT. "The new chief executive is likely going to be an American. It''s a political issue. That''ll probably serve them well with a Yank in charge in the short term," one London-based trader said.
A statement from BP on Monday dropped its previous insistence that Hayward remained chief executive officer with the full support of the company''s board and management. "BP notes the press speculation over the weekend regarding potential changes to management and the charge for the costs of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP confirms that no final decision has been made on these matters," it said. If Hayward goes, he will be the third of the last four BP chief executives to be forced to stand down early. John Browne left after lying in court papers about a gay love affair, and Bob Horton was pushed out over strategic disagreements in 1992.
The sources said BP''s board, meeting in London on Monday evening, would discuss a plan for the exit of Hayward, a geologist whose ill-chosen comments have further fanned American fury over the crisis. The boardroom drama unfolds as the company prepares to report an eye-popping second-quarter loss on Tuesday, as it accounts for the financial impact of the environmental catastrophe, which at its worst has lopped $100 billion from BP''s market value.