Tony Hayward Replaced by American Robert Dudley at BP

The embattled Tony Hayward is out and Mississippi native Robert Dudley is in at BP.

The company, which has stopped oil from spewing into the Gulf of Mexico but has far to go to finish the job and clean up its mess, announced the expected change at the top early Tuesday. It also reported a $17 billion loss in the second quarter, the New York Times said. The record loss stems from BP setting aside $32.2 billion for costs related to the spill, including $20 billion for an escrow fund announced earlier. To help cover the costs, the company plans to sell assets worth $30 billion over the next 18 months.

Dudley, who will become BP's first non-British chief executive, officially takes the reins at the beginning of October. In a statement, he acknowledged the rough road that lies ahead for BP in the wake of the nearly three-month spill, but called the company "financially robust" and well positioned to "put BP on the road to recovery."

Hayward, whose ill-chosen comments in the early days of the spill angered gulf residents and U.S. lawmakers, offered his regrets in a statement:

"The Gulf of Mexico explosion was a terrible tragedy for which -- as the man in charge of BP when it happened -- I will always feel a deep responsibility, regardless of where blame is ultimately found to lie."