BP chief announces his retirement

The BP boss brought in to turn around the oil giant following the Deepwater Horizon disaster has announced his retirement plans after 40 years in the industry.

Bob Dudley, 64, said he would step down as chief executive following the company’s annual results in February and formally quit the following month.

It marks the latest in a long line of senior resignations and retirements in the past week, with executives at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Metro Bank, Standard Life Aberdeen and Imperial Brands all standing down.

New York-born Mr Dudley will be replaced by Irish national Bernard Looney, head of oil and gas production, who had been tipped for the top job.

Mr Looney will take home a basic salary of £1.3 million a year, before any bonuses. Mr Dudley’s base pay hit $1.85m (£1.5m) last year, although with bonuses his total pay was $14.7m (£11.9m).

The outgoing chief said: “It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve this company and work in this industry for the past four decades.

“I have worked with so many committed people from all over the world, both inside and outside BP, and I am enormously proud of all the things we have achieved together to provide energy for the world.”

Mr Dudley rose to prominence beyond the sector when he replaced Tony Hayward as chief executive in 2010 with the world still reeling from the Deepwater Horizon disaster that left 11 oil rig workers dead and 87 days of oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico.

Bob Dudley.