Bumbling BP boss Tony Hayward has become the latest casualty of the Gulf oil mess.
Hayward yesterday was relieved of overseeing the “day-to-day operations” of managing the spill, company Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said.
The move came the day after Hayward’s disastrous I-don’t-know-anything appearance before a House energy panel in Washington.
“It is clear Tony has made remarks that have upset people,” Svanberg told Sky News television.
Svanberg conceded that Hayward had been “pasted” by angry congressmen demanding to know what caused the explosion on a BP-leased oil rig two months ago and why the wellhead is still spewing gunk into the Gulf.
“Everyone thought it would be done faster,” Svanberg said of stopping the flow. “America is frustrated. The fishermen, the people living on the Gulf Coast are frustrated.”
He said daily operations in the Gulf would be taken over by BP Managing Director Bob Dudley — while Svanberg himself would try to repair the company’s incinerated image.
“This has turned into a reputation matter, a financial squeeze for BP and a political matter,” he said.
“And that is why you will see more of me,” said Svanberg — who riled many Americans when he expressed concern for “the small people” at the White House on Wednesday.
“As this is turning into a different type of crisis, that is where I come in,” Svanberg said.
The executive said he was confident that BP would survive the current crisis because it has a “strong underlying performance — strong cash flow, strong operations.”
His optimism contrasted with comments by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who told The Wall Street Journal that the continuing financial nightmare might lead to the “annihilation” of BP.
Svanberg also defended Hayward’s gaffe-filled appearances before the American public.
“Here is also a man who has [been through] a 100 hours of TV time and maybe 500 interviews,” he said.
He added that Hayward’s grilling in Washington was “a very, very difficult hearing to go through.”
Before his congressional testimony, Hayward created controversy by telling The Times of London that Americans were particularly likely to file bogus damage claims.
He compounded that gaffe by telling Gulf victims of the spill that “no one wants this over more than I do. I would like my life back.”
Svanberg did not comment on Hayward’s future with the firm, but a BP spokesman in Houston said the company’s board “still has confidence in Tony.”
BP’s dumping of Hayward came amid several other developments on Day 60 on the Gulf tragedy:
* BP said the first of two relief wells being drilled to plug the leak is within 200 feet of the blown-out well.
Kent Wells, senior vice president of exploration and production, said the next step will be to slowly home in on the ruptured well and plug it.
* Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the point man for the federal response to the spill, said a newly expanded containment system by BP captured or incinerated more than 1 million gallons of oil Thursday. It was the highest amount yet collected.
* Larry King said he will host a two-hour Gulf relief telethon Monday night. Among the stars to appear are Justin Bieber, Cameron Diaz, Harry Connick Jr. and Robert Redford.