BP chief says not quitting over spill - newspaper

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BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward has said he is not thinking of quitting despite the outcry in the United States over the scale of damage from a ruptured deep-sea oil wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico."It hasn't crossed my mind. It's clearly crossed other people's minds but not mine," he told The Sunday Telegraph in an interview when asked if he had thought of stepping down as head of the British energy giant.Hayward was widely criticised and quickly apologised for complaining he wanted his "life back" weeks after the April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, which killed 11 workers and led to the worst oil spill in U.S. history.He told the newspaper he understood the widespread frustration at the length of time it was taking to contain the gushing oil well. The resulting slick has fouled Gulf coast waters, wildlife refuges and beaches."I think the reaction is entirely understandable when something of this magnitude occurred. I'm also angry and frustrated," he said.Hayward added that he was not worried that he might be prosecuted as a consequence of a U.S. criminal investigation into the disaster."I'm not anxious about being arrested," he said."The criminal investigation will proceed and will draw whatever conclusion it draws. The only thing I'm losing sleep about is the leak."Hayward provoked a sharp response from President Barack Obama last week when he said BP would pay dividends to its shareholders despite facing billions of dollars in cleanup costs.Asked whether BP might have to reconsider, in light of the U.S. leader's comments that the company had to meet its "moral and legal obligations here in the Gulf for the damage that has been done," Hayward said:"The board will take all considerations into account when it makes a decision on the dividend in another six weeks."The BP chief acknowledged that the spill had had an enormous impact on the company, but he said BP had learned from the experience."This won't stop deepwater drilling. It will transform it," he said. "We will be at the vanguard because we will know more about it than anyone else."As for the future shape of the company, he said it would "clearly be very different," with a higher emphasis on risk reduction and having the right equipment available to deal with a blowout and spill. (Writing by Michael Roddy; Editing by Paul Simao)
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