MOSCOW (Reuters) - BP (L:BP) Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said on Wednesday he plans to step down next year following a tumultuous decade at the helm of the oil and gas company.
Dudley, who turned 64 last month, said he would retire at 65 but that no decision on the timing of this move had been taken by BP's board.
Reuters reported on Monday that Dudley was drawing up plans to leave the company next year, which were discussed at BP's board meeting in the United States last week.
"I've said a long time, at the age of around 65 I would" step down, Dudley told reporters at an energy conference in Moscow.
No successor has been named yet, sources close to the company told Reuters.
Dudley became chief executive after his predecessor Tony Hayward stepped down in the wake of the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, that killed 11 rig workers and caused the largest oil spill in U.S. history.
He has since led BP through near-bankruptcy and an oil price collapse to being one of the fastest-growing oil companies. He has also overseen its efforts to address growing investor pressure to tackle climate change.