Tony Hayward to leave troubled Genel Energy

tony hayward
Tony Hayward was criticised for his handling of the BP's Gulf of Mexico disaster

Former BP boss Tony Hayward is to step down from struggling Genel Energy six years after he founded the Kurdistan-focused oil explorer with City financier Nat Rothschild.

Mr Hayward will be replaced as Genel’s chairman by oil industry veteran Stephen Whyte at the loss-making company’s annual general meeting in June.  

After leaving Genel, the 59-year-old will focus on his role as chairman of FTSE 100 commodities giant Glencore, as well as working with private equity house Carlyle, which is hunting for oil assets in Latin America.

Mr Whyte, who has spent more than three decades in the energy sector at the likes of Royal Dutch Shell and BG, will be tasked with leading a revival of Genel’s fortunes, which have failed to live up to expectations.

When Mr Hayward helped to set up the business in 2011 - his first venture since he was forced from BP following criticism for the way he dealt with the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster - he hailed its “first-class assets” in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, which he described as “one of the last great frontiers in the oil and gas industry”.

Taq Taq
Taq Taq is Genel's biggest Kurdistan oil field,

But Genel has since been beset by problems, including disruption to payments from the Kurdistan Regional Government for crude exports because of the fighting against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria; the oil price crash; and exploration campaigns in Angola, Malta and Morocco that failed to bear fruit.

Most significantly, however, the explorer has slashed estimates for reserves at Taq Taq, its biggest Kurdistan oil field, shaking investor confidence in its prospects. In March it cut its forecast to 59m barrels from the field, down from 172m at the end 2015 and 683m when Genel listed. Annual losses at Genel reached $1.2bn last year.

Those difficulties mean that Mr Hayward - who was Genel’s chief executive before becoming chairman in 2015 - has presided over a drop of more than 90pc in the explorer’s share price.

Mr Whyte said: “Genel has operated in a very tough environment in recent years but I believe the company has renewed momentum and significant opportunities in the portfolio.

“The fall in oil price impacted the entire industry, and that, coupled with the impact of the war against ISIS, put pressure on the finances of the already squeezed Kurdistan Regional Government.

“As the environment now improves, I look forward to working with the board to ensure that Genel has the best possible strategy for the future.”

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