Following a meeting in London to decide his fate, Tony Hayward was expected to resign Monday. He’ll work for BP in Russia instead, managing his company’s role in TNK-BP, a joint venture considered one of BP’s best projects . . But before he starts his new job, some senators want to ask him about a BP-Libya oil deal that stipulated the release of a convicted terrorist.
Tony Hayward’s Siberian sojourn
Tony Hayward will step down as BPs CEO in October. The New York Daily News ran an Associated Press report that said Hayward will probably be replaced as BP’s CEO by Robert Dudley. Hayward was changed by Dudley as BP’s point man for the oil spill response. Hayward will serve on the board of BP’s Russian venture TNK-BP. Ironically, Dudley once headed TNK-BP and had to flee from Russia in 2008 after he ran afoul of authorities there.
Dudley didn’t last at TNK-BP—will Hayward?
Tony Hayward’s new post at BP’s 50-50 joint venture with Russian oligarchs suggests that his business nevertheless thinks more of him than most Americans and the United States political establishment. The TNK-BP venture, as outlined by the Washington Post, is one BP’s most significant projects—with 25 percent of its total production. But BP’s Russian post can be a problem, as Robert Dudley’s experience shows. After getting into a dispute with Russian shareholders, Dudley was forced to leave the country.
Did Hayward negotiate to release a terrorist in exchange for oil?
. The New York Observer reports that the senators could be holding a July 29 hearing into the release of the Lockerbie bomber and told the press they want to hear from Hayward. The British government has been pressured for weeks by the two senators to start investigating whether a BP-Libya oil deal is related to the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdul Baset al-Megrahi. Menendez said he believed Hayward was in the middle of negotiations with the Libyans during the oil deal.
Additional reading
nydailynews.com/
nytimes.com
observer.com
