OIL giant BP has said its long search for a new chairman should be completed soon and the successor to Sir Peter Sutherland should be in place by August, according to chief executive Tony Hayward.
Shareholders have been calling on BP to speed up the search for a chairman since 2007, when it was known Sir Peter planned to retire this spring. He subsequently agreed to stay on until a successor was found.
Meanwhile, BP reported in its latest annual statistical review of world energy that global oil consumption fell by 420,000 barrels per day (bpd) last year compared with 2007, the biggest decline since 1982. It said fuel use continued to increase in emerging economies, notably China, which consumed an extra 260,000bpd, but the developed world used much less, led by a 1.3million bpd fall in America, the world’s biggest fuel consumer.
Mr Hayward said in the review: “Our data confirms the world has enough proved reserves of oil, natural gas and coal to meet the world’s needs for decades to come.”
Global oil production increased by 380,000bpd to 81.8million bpd, according to BP, which said the world’s proven oil reserves fell by 3billion barrels to 1.258trillion barrels by the end of 2008 from a revised 1.261trillion at the end of 2007.