PROFILE: Tony Hayward - BP chief executive under pressure

By Anna Tomforde May 21, 2010, 2:06 GMT

London - Tony Hayward does not take a break in his quest to stop the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that is threatening to stain the reputation of British Petroleum (BP) and could end his career with the oil giant.

A spokeswoman dismissed as 'minsinformation' media reports that the BP chief executive had returned to London this week to celebrate his 54th birthday and chair a board meeting.

'He's still there, he has not come back,' she said, referring to Hayward's own pledge that he would not return to Britain until the devastating leak had been 'fixed.'

Hayward, who has been in the US since the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20, has himself admitted that the oil disaster could cost him his job.

'I think I will be judged by my response. I don't feel my job is on the line but that might change,' he told British media.

It was his job to stop the leak, contain the oil offshore and to protect the shoreline. Ultimately: to save BP's reputation and potentially even its existence, he said.

With the spill costing the company between an estimated 10 million and 30 million dollars a day, and legal claims mounting, that is not a small task.

In addition, the US administration's tough response to the accident has been noted with some concern by BP and its shareholders.

'A lot hinges on what the US authorities' report into this latest disasters says,' one large shareholder told the Financial Times.

Hayward, known as a 'BP lifer' - someone whose entire career has been with the firm - joined the company in 1982.

Holding a geology degree, Hayward saw himself as an 'explorer at heart' and spent many years working in the field in countries ranging from China to Canada and Venezuela.

He worked his way up to the head of exploration and production by 2003, before succeeding the flamboyant Lord Browne as chief executive in May, 2007.

BP was, at that time, recovering from a string of disasters: The Texas City refinery explosion in 2005 that killed 15 workers, the Alaskan oil spills in 2006 and the breakdown of an ill-fated joint venture with Russia.

When he took over, Hayward pledged to 'restore confidence' in the company by setting a 'new benchmark in industrial safety in our Industry' - a promise that has come haunt him.

The leadership change at BP was welcomed by analysts in the City of London at a time when the credit crunch and the banking crisis cast their shadows over the financial district.

It did not take long for Hayward to make his mark with restructuring measures, shedding 7,500 jobs and returning the company to healthy profits - largely on the back of sky-high oil prices.

Ironically for him, the latest disaster in the Gulf of Mexico coincided with record BP first quarter profits of 3.6 billion pounds (5.2 billion dollars,) a rise of 135 per cent compared with the same period in 2009.

Experts have said the clean-up bill could easily exceed 1 billion dollars, and could reach double that figure, in addition to massive legal costs - and the incalculable impact on the BP brand.

However, Hayward believes the accident will not spell the end of the offshore oil industry. 'It will undoubtedly be a transforming event in the industry ... But Apollo 13 did not stop the space programme,' he said.