BP has appointed Richard Herbert as its new head of exploration – after snatching the oil and gas veteran from Talisman.
He is being brought in to succeed Mike Daly, who has chosen to retire at the end of 2013 after a career of 28 years with the company, eight of them leading BP’s exploration function.
Mr Daly was the most senior BP exploration and production executive to survive the management clear-out after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Last night BP chief executive Bob Dudley said Mr Daly had made “a lasting contribution” to the company.
Mr Herbert will rejoin BP from Talisman Energy where he has held the position of executive vice-president for exploration since 2009.
Mr Dudley said: “I am pleased to welcome Richard back to BP. He brings a wealth of exploration and leadership experience and expertise, gained across the world, which is aligned well with BP’s upstream and exploration strategy.”
Before joining Talisman, Mr Herbert spent six years with TNK-BP in Russia, serving first as VP Exploration and then EVP Technology. Prior to TNK-BP, he had a 19 year career with BP. He first joined BP as an exploration geologist in 1984 and held a number of senior technical and leadership positions in operations across the world, latterly leading BP’s Angolan business and then the Wytch Farm oilfield in the UK.
Mr Daly has been at BP for 28 years – eight of them as the company’s most senior exploration executive.
He took on an enhanced role on the executive management team in 2010 as part of the sweeping changes after the Deepwater Horizon spill that killed 11 men, caused the United States’ worst offshore environmental disaster and is costing the company tens of billions of dollars in fines, compensation and clean-up costs.
Those changes included the departure of chief executive Tony Hayward and the head of exploration and production Andy Inglis. Incoming boss Mr Dudley took a more hands-on role and appointed Daly to the management team to support him.
Mr Dudley added yesterday: “Mike leaves BP a thriving exploration organisation, with a deep, world-class portfolio and a drilling programme that is gaining momentum once more, making a number of significant discoveries already this year.
“His leadership has been underpinned by his passion for geoscience and deep appreciation of the importance of relationships with governments and partners. I wish Mike every success.”
Mr Herbert will join BP at the end of the month, and will be based in London. He will report to Lamar McKay, BP’s chief executive, Upstream.