Telegraph.co.uk

BP has denied reports that chief executive Tony Hayward is to step down, as the company prepares to sell off assets to pay for the oil spill clean-up.

By Conrad Quilty-Harper
Published: 1:26PM BST 21 Jul 2010

A BP spokesman said Mr Hayward “remains in place and has the support of the management and the board”.

BP’s share price rose 3pc to just over 400p by lunchtime.

The Times reported that Mr Hayward would leave by October 1 if the spill had been sealed.

An insider familiar with the situation was quoted as saying: “[…] you would be hard pushed to find anyone within the company who does not think he is irreparably damaged – both by his own performance and the event himself”. read more

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLnLVKI_cx0&feature=player_embedded#!

BP acknowledges it posted on its website an altered photo that exaggerates the activity at its Gulf oil spill command center in Houston.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

By DAVID DISHNEAU (AP) – 21 July 2010

NEW ORLEANS — BP acknowledges it posted on its website an altered photo that exaggerates the activity at its Gulf oil spill command center in Houston.

The picture posted over the weekend showed workers monitoring a bank of 10 giant video screens displaying underwater images.

Spokesman Scott Dean says Tuesday that two screens were blank in the original picture and a staff photographer used Photoshop software to add images.

Dean says the company put the unaltered picture up Monday after a blogger for the website Americablog wrote about telltale discrepancies. read more

Quoting sources close to BP, the Times reported that his exit is expected before 1 October if the ruptured well is sealed and his exit could be announced alongside a new strategy being hammered out for the group called Future BP. An insider said Hayward’s departure formed part of the group’s defence against any attempted buyout by ExxonMobil or Royal Dutch Shell.

• Chief executive expected to leave before 1 October
• BP plans to sell $7bn of assets for clean-up fund
• Fears oil still leaking despite containment cap
• Oil spill discussed by Barack Obama and David Cameron

Dan Milmo: Wednesday 21 July 2010 08.23 BST

BP chief executive Tony Hayward is set to step down by 1 October, the Times reports. Photograph: Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters

BP chief executive Tony Hayward is preparing to step down within the next 10 weeks, according to a report this morning, as the embattled oil giant announced plans to sell $7bn (£4.6bn) of gas assets for its Gulf of Mexico clean-up fund.

Hayward was heavily criticised for his reaction to the Deepwater Horizon disaster including the statement, “I want my life back”, that led to accusations of insensitivity. The beleaguered chief executive may get his wish soon, amid a growing expectation that the 53 year-old will announce his departure in late August or September. read more

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

JULY 21, 2010

By ANGEL GONZALEZ

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images: An undated photo of a drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

The recent transfer of two deepwater drilling rigs from the Gulf of Mexico to waters elsewhere prompted critics of a government drilling ban to repeat predictions of a mass flight that would wreck the region’s economy and severely curtail U.S. energy production.

But nearly eight weeks after Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling, 31 of the 33 rigs that were operating in the Gulf when the Deepwater Horizon exploded remain there. read more

Gale Norton “sent a clear message: the priority was more drilling first, safety second,” Waxman said.

Associated Press

Published July 20, 2010

WASHINGTON

Two former Interior secretaries told Congress Tuesday they did not anticipate an accident as large as the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

But Gale Norton and Dirk Kempthorne say no one else did either — including members of Congress who are now blaming the Bush administration for failing to prevent the tragedy.

Kempthorne, who served as Interior secretary from 2006 to January 2009, while George W. Bush was president, said he did not recall being asked at his confirmation hearing or in later congressional testimony about major oil spills. read more

On multiple occasions, reports prepared for the Minerals Management Service (MMS) warned that the blowout preventers (BOPs) used on offshore wells were unreliable. The Department never acted on these warnings.

THE HUFFINGTON POST

Interior Secretaries Under Bush And Obama Exposed By House Panel For Lax Oversight Of Oil Drilling

07-20-10

A tough new memo from a House committee probing the Gulf oil spill exposes the Interior Department under Presidents Bush and Obama for its failure to properly oversee offshore oil drilling operations. The three most recent Interior Secretaries — Gale Norton (2002-2006), Dirk Kempthorne (2006-2009), and Ken Salazar (2009-present) — all come in for withering criticism and are due to testify at congressional hearing on Tuesday, where they are sure to be asked tough questions about their tenure. read more