BP denied yesterday that its under-fire chief executive officer Tony Hayward was set to resign over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, after revealing that the crisis has so far cost $2.65 billion.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, preparing to meet Mr Hayward yesterday, said the British boss was to resign and present a successor, Russian news agencies reported.
However, a BP company mouthpiece insisted that Mr Hayward was not stepping down.
"Tony Hayward remains chief executive and is not resigning," she said. According to the Interfax and RIA Novosti news agencies, Mr Sechin had said that "Hayward is leaving his post and will present a successor".
The BP boss was meeting Mr Sechin, the Russian government's energy supremo, as the oil giant wrestles with the liabilities from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Mr Hayward, who has faced severe criticism from US President Barack Obama over his handling of the crisis, last week handed over management of the oil spill to another senior manager, Bob Dudley, who is a US national.
BP yesterday raised the cost so far of its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to $2.65 billion (€2.14 billion), an increase of about $300 million over the weekend.
"The cost of the response to date amounts to approximately $2.65 billion, including the cost of the spill response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to the Gulf states, claims paid, and federal costs," BP said in a statement.
"It is too early to quantify other potential costs and liabilities associated with the incident," it added.
The costs for BP are rising sharply on a daily basis. On Friday the bill stood at $2.35 billion.
But these figures are a drop in the ocean compared to the billions of dollars wiped off its market value.
BP's share price has collapsed by more than 50 per cent since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig which the company operated sank on April 22, two days after a blast killed 11 workers.
The shares slumped close to a 14-year low point on Friday but won back some ground to finish with a gain of 1.20 per cent at 308.25 pence yesterday.
BP was also hit last week by fears that Tropical Storm Alex could hamper the company's clean-up efforts in the Gulf of Mexico.
After coming under intense pressure from President Obama over the worst ever US environmental disaster, BP has agreed to suspend its shareholder dividend and create a $20-billion fund for costs arising from the spill.