Former BP boss, Tony Hayward, has announced his retirement as director and chairman of Genel Energy.
Hayward’s role will be taken up by Stephen Whyte, whose 30-year career has included a significant period in Royal Dutch Shell.
Hayward is best known for his time as chief executive of BP during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill when he was critcised by the Obama administration after a string of PR gaffes and for his handling of the disaster.
He resigned from the company in 2010 and took over Genel in 2011.
It has long since been rumoured that Hayward would leave the company in 2017, with shares plummeting 40% in February after it slashed the estimated value of its largest oil field.
Murat Özgül, chief executive of Genel, said: “It has been a great pleasure to have worked with Tony during his time at Genel. When we first started working together, the oil industry in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq was still in its infancy, without an export pipeline and there was a high degree of uncertainty overexport sales.
“Kurdistan now has a fully operational pipeline infrastructure exporting up to 600,000 bopd, and Taq Taq and Tawke have a proven track record of international sales and significant cash generation. Everyone at Genel wishes Tony all the best in his future activities.”