BP chief executive Tony Hayward to step down

By Anna Tomforde

London (dpa) – BP chief executive Tony Hayward is to step down on

October 1 following the oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, the

company said in London on Tuesday.

Hayward, who has been with the firm for 28 years, had been

severely criticized for his handling of the disaster.

He is expected to be succeeded by Robert (Bob) Dudley, a

US citizen, at the helm of of Britain’s biggest company.

The news came as the company announced a second quarter loss of

17.1 billion dollars, mainly as a result of costs involved in

cleaning up the oil spill.

The April-June loss was the first quarterly deficit since 1992 and

came on top of 6.1 billion dollar profit for the first quarter of

2010.