Spill disaster puts BP pound(s)11bn in red
Posted on July 29, 2010
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Spill disaster puts BP pound(s)11bn in red
0 Comments | Evening Times; Glasgow (UK), Jul 27, 2010
Oil giant BP plunged into the red for the first time in 18 years today as it racked up a huge 32.2 billion US dollar (pound(s)20.8 bn) bill for the Gulf of Mexico spill crisis.
BP, which also confirmed the departure of chief executive Tony Hayward, posted a loss of 17bn dollars (pound(s)11bn) for the April- June period following the Deepwater Horizon tragedy.
The firm is replacing Mr Hayward with US citizen Bob Dudley and also announced a shake-up of its portfolio including up to 30bn dollars (pound(s)19.3bn) in asset sales over the next 18 months.
Mr Hayward – who has committed a series of PR blunders since the crisis began – leaves with a pay-off of one year’s salary and an pound(s)11m pension pot.
He will step down on October 1 but remain on the BP board until the end of November and has been put forward as a non-executive director of the firm’s TNK-BP Russian joint venture.
BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said the firm was “deeply saddened” to lose a chief executive whose success “was so widely and deservedly admired”.
But he added that the Deepwater Horizon explosion – which left 11 workers dead – had been a “watershed incident”.
“It will be a different company going forward, requiring fresh leadership supported by robust governance,” Mr Svanberg said.
Meanwhile, BP petrol stations were shut down by activists today in a bid to urge the oil company to adopt greener energy policies.
Greenpeace claimed it shut off fuel supplies at around 50 service stations in central London.
A spokesman said activists stopped the flow of fuel by flipping safety switches located on the forecourts and then removing them to prevent the petrol stations reopening.
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