BP's Hayward Leaves Abu Dhabi After Visit To Partners

7th Jul 2010 14:47

ABU DHABI (Zawya Dow Jones)--BP PLC's (BP.LN) chief executive Tony Hayward left Abu Dhabi on Wednesday but gave little away about the purpose of his visit to the oil-rich Persian Gulf emirate that's being cast as a potential investor in the struggling U.K. company. "We are very delighted to meet with our long-term partners and friends," said Hayward as he prepared to board a flight out of the country after a brief two-day visit. Hayward earlier met with Abu Dhabi's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and would be open to seeing the oil-rich sheikdom buy a stake of up to 10%, a person with knowledge of the meeting told Zawya Dow Jones. He declined to give reporters more details before leaving Abu Dhabi. Airport officials told Zawya Dow Jones that his flight was bound for Angola, where BP operates offshore. BP's shares were last up 4.5% in London at 361.1 pence. (Nour Malas in Dubai contributed to this report.) -By Oliver Klaus and Tahani Karrar, Dow Jones Newswires, +9714 364 4961 [email protected] Copyright (c) 2010 Dow Jones & Co. (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 07, 2010 09:47 ET (13:47 GMT)