BP boss finalising severance package

London: Tony Hayward is finalising the details of his imminent exit as chief executive of BP this weekend as the oil giant prepares to make an announcement on his future.

After a weekend of detailed negotiations over Hayward's severance package, it now appears almost certain that he will announce his departure ahead of BP's half year results today.

According to consensus estimates, those results are expected to show that BP has made profits of nearly $10 billion (Dh36.7 billion) so far this year, despite the Deepwater Horizon disaster that has left the oil company facing bills of many billions of dollars.

It is now thought to be widely agreed by the BP board that it is only with Hayward's departure that the company can draw a line under the Gulf of Mexico disaster and plan for the future.

The company's chairman, Carl-Henric Svanberg, is now believed to agree that Hayward should go and that BP needs to announce a root-and-branch change of operational culture. Sources close to the chairman have said that Svanberg has been surprised by some of the operational systems at the company.

The board is scheduled to meet today and it only appears to be a last-minute hitch on the politically sensitive severance package that could derail the announcement.

The US President and federal government will look for signs that Hayward has been "rewarded for failure".

If the details can be agreed, he will be paid at least £1.045 million on leaving BP but is almost certain to demand more in compensation.