Iain Conn quits BP as Centrica confirms he is in line to succeed Sam Laidlaw

BP executive Iain Conn has quit the oil giant after 29 years, as Centrica finally confirmed he was in line to succeed Sam Laidlaw as its chief executive.

The British Gas owner said in a statement that it "has been, and continues to be, in discussions with Iain" about the "possibility" of him taking over from Mr Laidlaw, the 58-year-old who has held the top job at the energy supplier since 2006.

Mr Conn, 51, whose move to the energy utility has been in the works for months, is now expected to be officially confirmed in the role at Centrica's interim results next week, if not sooner.

Mr Conn was twice passed over for the top job at BP, where he has served on the board for 10 years and as head of its 'downstream' refining and marketing operations for the past seven years.

Taking the top job at Centrica will put Mr Conn into one of the most politically-charged jobs in the City as the energy industry faces a Competition and Markets Authority probe that could even see the company split up.

Mr Conn was first linked with Centrica last year, when he was rumoured as a candidate for chairman, and has been seen as a lead contender for chief executive since early this year when it emerged that Mr Laidlaw was planning to leave the company.

It is understood Mr Conn was interviewed for the job in April and Centrica had hoped to be in a position to announce his appointment by its annual general meeting in May.

But his move was held up by discussions over buying him out of his performance-related share schemes at BP, which are worth up to a maximum of £16m.

A deal is now said to have been agreed to resolve the issue.

Any such payment by Centrica would be politically extremely controversial. Mr Laidlaw gave up his bonus this year while other Centrica executives faced calls to do so.

In a statement, Mr Conn said: “Working for BP for the past 29 years has been a wonderful experience and my time working with BP’s customer-facing businesses since 2007 has been both challenging and greatly satisfying. It has been a privilege to lead the very capable Downstream team in its achievements and to help shape BP’s agenda in key geographies."

Centrica is still searching for a replacement for Nick Luff, its finance chief, who is leaving to take up the same post at Reed Elsevier, and for Chris Weston, the British Gas boss who is quitting to take the top job at Aggreko.