London: BP PLC says that Tony Hayward will step down as Chief Executive Officer from October 1, to be succeeded by American Robert Dudley.

In a statement accompanying its earnings update on Tuesday, BP says that the decision was made by "mutual agreement."

BP also reports that it has taken a pretax charge of $32.2 billion for the Gulf of Mexico spill, and plans to sell assets for up to $30 billion over the next 18 months.

The company says that Dudley will be based in London when he takes up his appointment and will hand over his present duties in the United States to Lamar McKay – the chairman and president of BP America.

Hayward will remain on the board until November 30 and BP plans to nominate him as a non-executive director of its Russian joint venture TNK-BP.