Hayward to quit TNK-BP board: report

LONDON: Former BP boss Tony Hayward is to resign from the board of Russian oil joint venture TNK-BP after announcing his return to the oil business with a new major deal, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.

Hayward and investment vehicle Vallares announced an agreement last week to acquire Turkish explorer Genel Energy. The enlarged group will likely be big enough to enter the FTSE 100 index of blue-chip London-listed companies.

In an interview with the newspaper, Hayward said he did not have any plans to step down from either TNK-BP or the board of Glencore However, the paper quoted people close to Hayward as saying he was expected to inform BP of his intention in coming weeks.

The paper said Hayward did not believe he will have the time to devote to TNK-BP.

Hayward left BP after its blown-out Macondo well caused the worst ever offshore oil spill in the United States. As part of the crisis, Hayward was vilified by much of the American press for a string of comments, including when he said he wanted to get his "life back".

The news comes as Britain's prime minister, David Cameron, travels to Russia for a visit focused on business and trade. Cameron will travel with more than 20 business executives, including BP chief executive Bob Dudley.

BP has been engaged in a spat with its partners in TNK-BP, who have alleged billions of losses due to BP's failed plan to establish a parallel joint venture with state-controlled Rosneft.

Last week, black-clad special forces raided BP's Moscow offices and searched for documents related to the failed Rosneft deal. BP was not available to comment.

Copyright Reuters, 2011