LONDON: British energy major BP said on Thursday that chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg has decided to step down after a spell of almost eight years which included the devastating Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.

The 65-year-old Swede “has informed the company’s board of directors of his intention to retire as chairman”, BP said in a statement. He will stay in the post until a replacement is found.

Svanberg became chairman in January 2010 — shortly before the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in April of the same year in the Gulf of Mexico.

The blast killed ten men off the coast of Louisiana and caused 134 million gallons (507 million litres) of oil to spew into Gulf waters, sparking the worst environmental catastrophe in US history.

As chairman, Svanberg has also helped guide the company through a precipitous plunge in world oil prices. “It has been a tremendous privilege to lead the BP board over the past eight years. I am proud of the achievements of the management and the company in that time,” said Svanberg, who is one of Sweden’s top business executives.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2017