BP Share News (BP.)

(Adds comment from Russian government about Hayward's post) By William Maudlin Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES MOSCOW (Dow Jones)--BP PLC (BP) Chief Executive Tony Hayward will discuss his company's stake in Russian state oil giant OAO Rosneft (ROSN.RS) during a meeting with officials in Moscow, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's office said Monday. Meanwhile, BP denied that Hayward will soon leave his post and announce a successor, as suggested by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin. Hayward is meeting Monday afternoon with Sechin, who is also the chairman of Rosneft, Putin's spokesman said. The possibility of talks between Hayward and Putin was "never discussed," the spokesman added. BP's international problems are "not the agenda for us, since what's actually important is the stake in Rosneft and general long-term cooperation with the company," Putin's spokesman said by telephone. Earlier, Sechin told reporters outside Moscow that "we heard that Tony Hayward plans to leave his post as the head of BP and introduce a successor," according to a government aide who couldn't say whether Sechin had first-hand knowledge of BP's plans. A BP spokeswoman in London said Hayward remains chief executive and the BP board of directors isn't discussing his removal or replacement. Putin's spokesman said that BP's major joint venture in Russia, TNK-BP International (TNBP.RS) is a "corporate issue" and won't be the focus of the Moscow meetings. BP has taken new steps to bolster its cash and available credit, adding $5 billion to its oil-spill war chest amid deepening concerns about the escalating costs of the Gulf of Mexico disaster. BP has arranged more than $3 billion in new unsecured bank credit lines in the past week and had picked up $2 billion in cash borrowed against BP's stake in Rosneft and other assets, The Wall Street Journal reported. The U.K. embassy in Moscow had no immediate comment on the BP visit. -By William Mauldin, Dow Jones Newswires; +7 495 232-9192; william.mauldin@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 28, 2010 08:33 ET (12:33 GMT)