BP replaces CEO Hayward as point man for oil spill response

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BP replaces CEO Hayward as point man for oil spill response

The oil giant's chairman cites the chief executive's inartful public remarks in explaining the decision. Managing director Robert Dudley, a Mississippi native, will take over daily operations.


By Walter Hamilton and Scott Kraft, Los Angeles Times
June 18, 2010 | 4:56 p.m.

Embattled BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward, who endured a ferocious daylong grilling this week on Capitol Hill, was replaced Friday as the point man for the day-to-day response to the gulf oil disaster, a move that drew praise from BP critics and suggested the company was growing increasingly concerned with damage to its image.

BP's chairman, Carl-Henric Svanberg, told Sky News television in Britain that Hayward was handing over daily operations to managing director Robert Dudley, a Mississippi native who started his career at Chicago-based Amoco Corp., which BP bought in 1998. Dudley has handled sensitive international assignments for BP in Russia and Africa.

Hayward, a soft-spoken British geologist, has been a lightning rod for criticism of BP since the April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. Under questioning in Washington on Thursday, members of Congress accused him of "stonewalling" and "insulting our intelligence."

Hayward also has been pilloried for several rhetorical missteps that critics interpreted as signs of callousness and detachment. His comment last month that "I'd like my life back" ? an inartful attempt to underscore his desire to move quickly to cap the well ? sparked a firestorm from those who said it showed BP's disregard for the suffering of people in the gulf region.

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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-oil-spill-20100619,0,1365994.story

 

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Re: BP replaces CEO Hayward as point man for oil spill response

Who is Bob Dudley? Five things to know about BP's new point man.

BP's managing director Bob Dudley will have day-to-day responsibility for managing the company's oil spill response in the Gulf of Mexico. Will he do any better at battling the crisis?


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Bob Dudley, the Managing Director of BP, arrives at the White House Wednesday for a meeting with President Barack Obama.
Charles Dharapak/AP

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By Mark Trumbull, Staff writer / June 18, 2010
The chairman of BP announced Friday that the company's CEO, Tony Hayward, will no longer have day-to-day responsibility for managing the company's oil spill response in the Gulf of Mexico.

That task now falls to another longtime BP executive, managing director Bob Dudley. Mr. Hayward will remain the firm's chief executive.

The move announced by chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg came a day after Hayward endured withering criticism and interrogation from members of Congress, and after weeks during which Hayward was in the news as much for verbal gaffes as for crisis leadership.


But who is Bob Dudley, and will he do any better at battling the spill that has so far proved an intractable mess for BP, the US government, and the Gulf Coast? The public will know more in a few months, but already he's no stranger to the Gulf region or to the US news media.

Here are five things to know, gleaned from his recent public appearances, as well as from older news-wire reports and industry publications:

He's an American. BP's voice in America will no longer come with a British accent attached. He has a chemical engineering degree from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Southern Methodist University, according to a biography published by Energy Intelligence Group. He's worked in the oil industry a long time including at Amoco, before it merged with BP. He became a BP director about a year ago.

He's been in the frying pan. Dudley is no stranger to tough situations. The oil business these days involves working in difficult terrain, whether that's in physical terms (a mile below the sea's surface) or politically. His work has taken him to the South China Sea, Angola, Algeria, and Egypt.
In Vladimir Putin's Russia, while trying to extract oil and related profits in a BP joint venture, he was embroiled in a nasty corporate fight ? accused by business partners of focusing solely on BP's bottom line. International Oil Daily described Dudley as "the most high-profile victim of the shareholder battle for control of TNK-BP, which effectively ended with his departure from Russia."

He's been in the fire. He won't bring fresh eyes to the Gulf. He's already been one of BP's point men there ? helping to orchestrate the failed "top kill" and other efforts to plug the wellhead leak. His new role simply formalizes something chairman Svanberg had already announced ? that Hayward would soon relinquish day-to-day management of the spill response.

"We failed to wrestle the beast to the ground yesterday," he said in a matter-of-fact monotone on ABC at the end of May, as the top-kill effort failed.

He's has shown some care with words. This is important, because BP has both a public-image problem and legal challenges ? and those two things can tug a corporate spokesman in different ways. One calls for an air of forthrightness, the other for caution.

"We understand the anger of the people, particularly those whose livelihoods have been affected," he told NBC's "Meet the Press" recently.

On ABC in May, he said that he wants to avoid pointing fingers and that an investigation is needed on the blowout's causes. But in the next breath, he said the blowout preventer (not made by BP) "is the piece of equipment that is not expected to fail." He rejected allegations that BP was "cutting corners" on safety.

All this doesn't answer whether Dudley will be able to shake congressional critics and avoid gaffes such as Hayward's comment that he wanted "his life back." But it suggests he thinks carefully about how public words affect BP.

He's not CEO ? at least not yet. Hayward for now remains the firm's chief executive. But his demotion from leadership in the Gulf, coupled with his secondary role in the White House's talks with BP (Svanberg took the lead), suggests to many that his days at the helm may be numbered. That leaves open the question of whether Dudley will be in line for the top job.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0...-Five-things-to-know-about-BP-s-new-point-man

 

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Re: BP replaces CEO Hayward as point man for oil spill response

BP Oil Change: Hayward Being Sidelined After Shoddy Performance at Gulf Spill


Published June 21, 2010
| FOXNews.

Wednesday: BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg (left), CEO Tony Hayward and Managing Director Bob Dudley leave the White House after their meeting with President Obama. (Reuters)

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BP Chief Tony Hayward may have been yachting around England over the weekend because his duties at the oil giant are being handed over to the company's managing director.

BP spokeswoman Sheila Williams confirmed to Fox News on Monday that Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg has decided to sideline Hayward.

"The transition of day-to-day handling by BP Managing Robert Dudley of the oil spill cleanup has started," Williams said.

On Friday, Svanberg told Fox News sister network Sky News in the United Kingdom that Hayward would remain in charge of the oil spill response until the leak is stopped -- which could be August or later -- but Dudley will take over in the Gulf of Mexico.

Svanberg said comments by Hayward have had a detrimental effect on the company as it seeks to control the fallout from the April 20 explosion that caused a massive gusher that's now in its 63rd day.

"It is clear Tony has made remarks that have upset people," he told Sky News.

Hayward has repeatedly put his foot in his mouth since the Deepwater Horizon spill began, most notably for saying shortly after the explosion that killed 11 people that he'd like his life back
Hayward caused an additional uproar over the weekend by participating in a yachting race around England's Isle of Wight. Hayward entered his 52-foot yacht named "Bob" into The JP Morgan-sponsored race. It finished fourth in its class.

Williams had little to say about the sailing race or the appearance it created.
"It was a rare private time for Mr. Hayward to share with his son and that is all we are going to say about this," she said.

But Hayward's announcement that he had canceled a scheduled appearance at a London oil conference on Tuesday to focus on the Gulf suggested fallout from the yacht race had not ended.

BP spokesman Jon Pack said Monday that Hayward's "very heavy schedule of commitments to the Gulf of Mexico" had led him to cancel his appearance at the World National Oil Companies Congress.

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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/06/21/hayward-sidelined-shoddy-performance-bp-oil-spill/

 

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Re: BP replaces CEO Hayward as point man for oil spill response

BP Announces New Gulf Coast Restoration Organization

Release date: 23 June 2010

BP today provided further details about the previously-announced new organization that will manage the company?s long-term response to the Deepwater Horizon incident and the MC252 oil and gas spill. Effective immediately, Bob Dudley has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of BP?s Gulf Coast Restoration Organization. Mr. Dudley will report to Tony Hayward, BP?s Group Chief Executive.
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The new organization will manage all aspects of the response to the Deepwater Horizon incident and the oil and gas spill in the Gulf of Mexico, ensuring that BP fulfils its promises to the people of the Gulf Coast and continues its work to restore the region?s environment. BP?s decision to establish this new organization in no way limits the resources that are available to meet the company?s commitments to clean up the spill and restore the Gulf Coast. BP?s Exploration and Production Segment will remain accountable for all activities relating to killing the MC252 exploratory well and containing the flow of oil and gas into the Gulf of Mexico.
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Specifically, the newly-formed Gulf Coast Restoration Organization will:

• continue executing clean-up operations and all associated remediation activities;
• coordinate with government officials, including with the National Incident Commander, Admiral Thad Allen, and the governors and local officials in the Gulf States, to meet BP?s commitments as effectively and efficiently as possible;
• keep the public informed of BP?s clean-up and remediation activities;
• implement the $20 billion escrow account that BP announced as evidence of its commitment to compensate those individuals, businesses, and others who have been impacted by the spill; and
• continue to evaluate the spill?s impact on the environment.

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Under this structure, BP?s Gulf States response activities, which are centered in the Unified Command with the Coast Guard in New Orleans, will now report directly to Mr. Dudley.
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"The response to the incident in the Gulf of Mexico continues to be BP?s highest priority,? said Mr. Hayward. ?Our commitment to the Gulf States is for the long-term. And that requires a more permanent sustainable organization to see it through.? On his selection of Mr. Dudley to lead the new organization, Mr. Hayward commented, ?having grown up in Mississippi, Bob has a deep appreciation and affinity for the Gulf Coast, and believes deeply in BP?s commitment to restore the region."
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"I look forward to engaging immediately with the Unified Command and with stakeholders across the region,? said Mr. Dudley. ?In the near term, my focus will be on listening to stakeholders, so we can address concerns and remove obstacles that get in the way of our effectiveness. And we?ll build an organization that over the longer term fulfils BP's commitments to restore the livelihoods and the environment of the Gulf Coast."

http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7063068

 

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Re: BP replaces CEO Hayward as point man for oil spill response

BP CEO Tony Hayward to Step Down and be Succeeded by Robert Dudley

Release date: 27 July 2010

BP today announced that, by mutual agreement with the BP board, Tony Hayward is to step down as group chief executive with effect from October 1, 2010. He will be succeeded as of that date by fellow executive director Robert Dudley.

BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said: "The BP board is deeply saddened to lose a CEO whose success over some three years in driving the performance of the company was so widely and deservedly admired.

"The tragedy of the Macondo well explosion and subsequent environmental damage has been a watershed incident. BP remains a strong business with fine assets, excellent people and a vital role to play in meeting the world's energy needs. But it will be a different company going forward, requiring fresh leadership supported by robust governance and a very engaged board.

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http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7063976