BP chief Hayward set to be offered Russian role
Jul 27 2010 by Peter McCusker, The Journal
OUTGOING BP boss Tony Hayward will be offered a board role within the group's Russian joint venture when he stands down, it was reported last night.
The oil giant is expected to confirm his resignation from the top job following a board meeting being held yesterday evening, but is likely to offer Mr Hayward a non-executive directorship at TNK-BP in Russia, according to reports.
The move could mean the beleaguered chief executive’s 28-year career with BP is not brought to a complete halt.
Shares in BP closed 5% higher as investors cheered the prospect of a change at the helm.
The firm declined to comment on the reported offer of a Russian role for Mr Hayward.
But his fate was set to be sealed at last night’s board meeting and is expected to be confirmed today alongside provisions running into tens of billions of dollars for the Gulf of Mexico spill.
Mr Hayward has led the firm since 2007 but has committed a string of PR blunders since the crisis began in April and was reportedly negotiating his departure over the weekend.
Fellow board member and US citizen Bob Dudley – currently in charge of the clean-up operation – is the favourite to take over, becoming BP’s first foreign chief executive.
Mr Dudley was previously head of the Russian operation, but fled the country after a dispute flared up with the firm’s Russian partners.
BP said any decisions following the meeting would be “announced as appropriate”, but declined to comment further.
The terms of Mr Hayward’s departure from the £1m-a-year post are not yet known, although he will leave with a pension pot worth £10.8m.
He is entitled to a year’s pay on departure, although Bargate Murray partner Philip Henson said he could receive more to “reflect his long service and dedication to BP”.
Alongside his salary, Mr Hayward received a £2.09m bonus for 2009 as well as £336,000 in shares which were allotted under the firm’s performance plan for 2006-08.
In February this year he also received £852,000 in shares under the 2007-09 plan, while a further scheme running between 2009 and 2011 would give him a potential maximum of 1.18 million shares, worth almost £5m.
According to BP’s annual report, he also has options over 650,000 BP shares, although the prices are currently above the stock’s level in the wider market following the firm’s share price collapse, which has wiped around £45bn from BP’s value.
Results tomorrow are likely to show the oil giant’s first quarterly loss since 1992 due to the catastrophe, which should comfortably wipe out expected underlying profits of around US$5bn (£3.2 billion).
The firm has axed its dividend for the first time since the Second World War – hitting pension funds in the UK and US – and is selling off assets to help meet the cost of the clean-up. Later the firm is certain to face fines running into billions of dollars.
BP has resumed efforts to cut off the leaking well with a relief well after being forced to suspend operations due to a tropical storm.
