BP's Dudley Vows No Pullback From Gulf Oil Crisis

NEW ORLEANS (AFP) -- Incoming BP Plc (BP) chief executive Bob Dudley vowed Friday the company would stay the course in cleaning up the oil-hit Gulf region during his first visit since he was named to take the company's helm. "We've had some good news on the oil... but that doesn't mean we're done. We'll be here for years," Dudley told reporters in Mississippi, one of the five states hit by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The ruptured well has been capped for the past two weeks, finally stemming the gush of crude into the Gulf triggered by an explosion on a BP-leased rig on April 20. Up to 5.3 million barrels are estimated to have spewed into the seas. But no oil has been unleashed into the water since the cap went on, and BP and U.S. experts have said vessels employed to skim the waters are now having trouble finding any crude and are being pulled back. "You will see the evidence of a pullback because we have boom across the shores all the way from Florida to Louisiana. Those only last for a certain number of tide cycles," Dudley admitted at the press conference in Biloxi. "And where there is no oil on the beaches you probably don't need people walking up and down in Hazmat suits. So you'll probably see that kind of a pullback. But commitment, absolutely no pullback," he pledged. Dudley was named Tuesday to take over as the British energy giant's new chief executive officer to replace Tony Hawyard, who was loudly criticized for his bumbling, gaffe-filled handling of the disaster. Dudley was to fly later Friday to Mobile, Alabama to investigate complaints that a compensation process put in place by BP was being too slow in making payments to residents facing economic ruin. "We look forward to connecting deeper to know what it is we can do to help your towns and beaches to get completely back on their feet," he said. BP also announced that it has hired public safety and crisis management consulting firm Witt Associates to help support its long term recovery plan for the southern Gulf states. "I've seen the anguish and the pain that people have suffered after disaster events. I've seen the frustration and I've seen time and time again after large events ... I've seen communities come back stronger and better," company chief James Lee Witt said. "It's going to be really, really critical that we get this right... to make sure we get the information that you have, to make sure we build a long term recovery program." (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 30, 2010 11:57 ET (15:57 GMT)