BP chief executive Lord Browne yesterday scotched talk of a boardroom row.
Presenting the oil giant’s annual results for the last time, Lord Browne denied his departure was linked to clashes over a possible merger with SHELL.
And he insisted it was unconnected with last month’s Baker report — which slammed BP’s safety record.
He said: “We’ve had a very lengthy and very good succession planning process.
“When it was clear my successor would be Tony Hayward, who is a great person, I decided that I would leave. In my experience, organisations don’t like uncertainty, they like to know who’s in charge.”
He said he was now working with Mr Hayward on an orderly handover. Lord Browne added: “We’ve worked together for years and years, he’s my friend — we’ve worked together for so long it’s impossible to tell.”
He was speaking as BP reported full year profits of £11.3billion for 2006 — up 15 per cent on 2005.
But profits for October, November and December were down 12 per cent on those months in 2005 due to lower production and higher costs.
Analysts were also concerned at news that BP’s oil and gas production will be lower than expected next year — while the company will invest £9.1billion in exploration next year, some £1.3billion more than expected.
But Lord Browne said: “We have a superb track record in reserves replacement.
“We know what we need to do and have put the right amount of capital behind that.”
He said production suffered partly because the whole industry was running at full pelt.
He added: “We’ve experienced delays in getting projects on stream. Rigs, equipment and so forth are in very short supply so, if anything goes wrong, you don’t have any back-up.”
BP shares sank 6.5p to 535.
Lord Browne said: “They are underpriced. I am certain we will do something about it. It’s up to us to perform.”
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
