2010-07-26 16:42

LONDON?- BP PLC said Monday that "no final decision" has been made about possible management changes, which apparently includes reports over the weekend that Chief Executive Tony Hayward is on the way out.

The oil company said its board would meet Monday evening, a day before it announces earnings for the second quarter.

"BP notes the press speculation over the weekend regarding potential changes to management and the charge for the costs of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP confirms that no final decision has been made on these matters," the company said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.

Shares were up 2.2 percent at 407.6 pence ($6.31) in early trading in London.

British media reported over the weekend that Hayward was negotiating the terms of his departure ahead of its second quarter results announcement on Tuesday. A US government official also said on condition of anonymity that Hayward is on his way out as CEO.

The BP board would have to approve a change in company leadership.

Citing unidentified sources, the BBC and Britain's Sunday Telegraph said detailed talks regarding Hayward's future had taken place over the weekend.

Hayward, 53, had become a lightning rod for outrage in the United States about the spill which started on April 20 with an explosion and fire on the Deepwater Horizon rig. Eleven workers died in the disaster.

Hayward had assumed a high-profile role as the face of BP in responding to the spill. His comment that he was eager to resolve the incident "so that I can have my life back" antagonized his critics in the United States.

Robert Dudley, currently heading the effort to clean up the Gulf Coast, figured prominently in speculation about Hayward's likely successor. Dudley is currently BP's managing director, and grew up partly in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He spent 20 years at Amoco Corp., which merged with BP in 1998, and lost out to Hayward on the CEO's slot three years ago.

He took over from Hayward as the point man on the cleanup in June. Last week, BP said the cost of dealing with the spill had reached nearly $4 billion, but that it was too early to quantify the eventual total cost.

Hayward joined BP in 1982 as a geologist, and currently makes 1.045 million pounds ($1.6 million) a year as the company's head, according to their annual report. In 2009, he received a performance bonus of more than 2 million pounds plus other remuneration, bringing his total pay package to over 4 million pounds.