BP CEO Lord Browne To be Succeded by Critisising Coworker

A senior BP executive has delivered stark criticisms of the oil firm?s corporate culture and cost-cuts, in an apparent attempt to succeed current BP chief Lord Browne, The Times reported.

Tony Hayward, BP?s chief executive for exploration and production, posted the comments, headed ?Hayward Shares Candid Views on 2006?, on BP?s internal website.

In a note intended as an end of year round-up for his team, Mr Hayward said: ?We have a leadership style that probably is too directive and doesn?t listen sufficiently well. The top of the organisation doesn?t listen hard enough to what the bottom of the organisation is saying.?

Mr Hayward said that BP had ?quite a lot of work to do? in ensuring safety levels at its plants, equipment and processes. He said: ?The frontline operations teams, I think, have lived too long in the world of making do and patching up this quarter for the next quarter rather than really thinking about how we are going to maintain a piece of equipment for the next 30 or 40 years.?