Tony Hayward to Step Down as CEO of BP: Official

Last Updated 7:06 p.m. ET

An official said today that Tony Hayward will step down from his position as CEO of the oil giant BP in October.

The official also said Hayward will take a job with the company's joint venture in Russia, TNK-BP.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not been made by the British company's board, which was meeting Monday in London to decide Hayward's fate.

The news comes after widespread reports that Hayward was to resign after Monday's meeting.

It's not yet clear what Hayward's role will be with TNK-BP. BP owns half of the oil firm, which is Russia's third-largest.

It was once run by American Bob Dudley, BP's Managing Director and now the odds-on favorite to replace Hayward as CEO.

After Hayward made a series of missteps, including telling reporters he wanted his life back as Gulf residents struggled to deal with the spill, Dudley took over as BP's point man in dealing with it. He was in London Monday with other board members.

He would be BP's first American CEO if chosen.

Special Section: Disaster in the Gulf

The one-day board meeting comes a day before BP announces earnings for the second quarter: An expected $5 billion, reports CBS News correspondent Tony Guida. That's plenty to pay off Hayward's severance and pension totaling nearly $17 million. But those profits are swamped by the amount BP has set aside for Gulf claims and clean-up

Last week the company said its containment and cleanup costs to date have totaled approximately $3.95 billion. The company has also agreed to create a $20 billion fund to pay out claims arising from the disaster, which has decimated the Gulf Coast.

BP's earnings report is expected to include preliminary provisions for the total cost of the Gulf disaster, which analysts say could be as high as $30 billion.

A change in leadership will not change the mammoth tasks ahead for BP, from stopping the offshore oil gusher for good, to cleaning up the millions of gallons that have already leaked, to paying billions in claims - all while defending its stock price and repairing its battered reputation.

After a series of blunders, Hayward has become the battered face of BP's efforts to contain the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and clean up the damage. He was called back to London a month ago after a bruising encounter with a Congressional committee and has since kept a low profile.

"We're getting to the end of the situation," said David Battersby at Redmayne Bentley Stockbrokers. "To draw a line under it, they need a new chief executive."

On Sunday a U.S. government official confirmed to the Associated Press an earlier report by the BBC that Hayward, whose gaffes added insult to oil-spill injury for the Gulf Coast, was on his way out as CEO.

CBS News correspondent Kelly Cobiella reports that, right from the start of the Gulf disaster, Hayward couldn't seem to get it right. First came his predictions that the impact from the oil spill would be modest; then the stinging gaffe when he told television cameras he was eager for a conclusion to the catastrophe so that he could get his "life back."

The final gaffe: sailing off on his yacht as BP's well kept gushing. Analysts say the pile of public relations mistakes, along with a 40 percent drop in the company's worth, left the board no choice but to remove him.

Many Gulf residents found small comfort in that as BP's biggest mistake under Hayward continued to foul their waters, their beaches and their way of life.

"His first concern should have been the livelihoods of the people of the Gulf of Mexico," Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., told "The Early Show" on Monday.

Last month a spokesman for the oil company told CBS News that rumors of Hayward's resignation were false.

Earlier Sunday, BP spokesman Toby Odone seemed to downplay media speculation about Hayward's departure, as the BBC reported that Hayward was negotiating the terms of his exit from the company.

There is persistent speculation that chairman Karl-Henric Svanberg, who moved into the post on Jan. 1, is also likely to lose his job later this year.

Markey, who is chairman of the House Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment, told CBS News he was "hopeful that Mr. Dudley will be more responsible, but a total change in the culture of this company is what's called for."

Markey added that new BP management and the expected permanent seal of the oil well would not end the challenge of dealing with the disaster, the "consequences" of which, he said, would "go on for months and potentially for years."