BP chief executive to step down in October

LONDON - BP chief executive Tony Hayward is to step down on Oct 1 following the oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, the company said in London Tuesday.

Hayward, who has been with the firm for 28 years, had been severely criticised for his handling of the disaster.

He is expected to be succeeded by Robert Dudley, a US citizen, at the helm of Britain’s biggest company.

The news came as the company announced a second quarter loss of $17.1 billion, mainly as a result of costs involved in cleaning up the oil spill.

The April-June loss was the first quarterly deficit since 1992 and came on top of $6.1 billion profit for the first quarter of 2010.