BP’s Hayward starts energy consultancy
FORMER BP chief executive Tony Hayward has set up his own business, understood to be an energy consultancy, as he rejoins the business world following his departure from the oil giant.
Hayward set up 3E Capital on 28 October, papers filed at Companies House show. He lists Deloitte’s office in London as the company’s registered address, suggesting the professional services firm has helped him set up the business.
The firm has started life with 100 shares, all of which belong to Hayward. He is also the sole director of the company.
The firm’s initial registration papers do not specify what it will do, but several reports at the weekend claimed it is a vehicle for Hayward to undertake freelance work as an advisor to other energy companies.
Hayward, who remains a BP director until the end of the year, was reportedly in Russia this weekend for his first meeting as a non-executive director of TNK-BP, the firm’s Russian joint venture.
He stepped down from the top job at BP in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in April, where 11 rig workers died and oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, costing the firm $39bn to date.
Hayward came under pressure to resign following a string of gaffes, including taking a yachting trip with his son off the Isle of Wight while oil continued to gush into the Gulf, and for telling reporters a month after the fatal spill: “I want my life back”.
BP’s bill for the disaster could rise further if more compensation claims emerge. The US government’s independent probe into the Gulf spill heard last week about BP and its partners’ “culture of complacency”, and is due to report its findings in January. Its report could prompt more claimants to come forward.
BP declined to comment on Hayward’s new project yesterday.
TIME LINE | THE RISE AND FALL OF TONY HAYWARD
● 21 May 1957
Anthony Bryan Hayward, the eldest of seven children, is born in Slough.
● 1982
After a PhD in geology, he joins BP’s North Sea operations in Aberdeen and starts to work his way up the company.
● May 2007
Hayward becomes chief executive of BP.
● 20 April 2010
Deepwater Horizon rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and causing oil to gush into the sea.
● 17 May
Hayward states the environmental impact of the spill was likely to be “very modest”.
● 30 May
Hayward travels to Louisiana to apologise to affected residents, but draws criticism for telling victims: “I would like my life back”.
● 7 June
US president Barack Obama criticises Hayward, telling NBC he spoke to oil spill experts “so I know whose ass to kick”.
● 7 June
Hayward spends the day with his son, watching his yacht take part in a race around the Isle of Wight.
● 27 July
After weeks of speculation, BP confirms that Hayward will step down in October, and that Bob Dudley will become the new chief executive.