Lord John Staying On

LONDON -- BP Plc Chief Executive John Browne said he expects to retain his post for at least another seven years until the age of retirement, quashing any lingering talk of stepping down early.

"I am 53. And I expect to be chief executive of BP until the statutory retirement age of 60," Browne told a news briefing on the company's 2001 financial results.

He said his appointment last spring to the House of Lords, Britain's upper legislative chamber, had not interfered with his duties as he had resigned from the supervisory board of DaimlerChrysler to make time.

The promotion last week of John Manzoni, currently chief executive of gas and power at BP, to the company's main board spurred speculation that Browne was grooming a successor to head the world's third largest oil company.

Manzoni will be the only person on the board younger than Browne.