Facing mounting criticism over his handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, British Petroleum PLC (NYSE: BP, Stock Forum) chief executive Tony Hayward is stepping down from his leadership role in dealing with the leaking well.
A report by Britain's Guardian newspaper said the move was aimed a diluting some of the anti-British feeling, which has been aimed at Hayward since April 20, when the Deepwater Horizon rig blew up and sank, killing 11 oil workers in the process.
On Friday, after putting a containment cap on top of the leak, BP was still trying to contain the spewing oil and gas, which is expected to have catastrophic consequences for the Gulf Coast environment.
Hayward said BP will create a separate stand-alone organization to manage the long-term response once the spill is over. BP Managing Director Bob Dudley will lead the new organization, allowing Hayward and other senior executives to keep BP’s main business on track.
“This step will ensure that we maintain focus on both the massive response effort and our duties towards our ongoing businesses,’’ Hayward said. “I remain personally committed to making this right.’’
Meanwhile, after placing a containment cap on top of the Deepwater Horizon’s failed blow-out preventer, the company said Friday that it is expected to take one or more days for the oil flow rates to stabilize.
BP said it is not possible at this stage to estimate how much oil and gas will be captured by the containment system.