Vessels operate at the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 17 Jul 2010

Many factors may have been to blame for the disaster. But, the focus turned on Hayward, says economic and environmental policy expert Robert Faulkner of the London School of Economics. He says Hayward's departure was inevitable.

"It may not be entirely justified that he was the 'fall guy,' but in the public's eye and in the view of the U.S. Congress and the president, he was the man responsible for this," noted Faulkner. "And as so often in major crises, the top man has to take that responsibility and walk."

Hayward will "walk" on October 1 with a hefty severance package and a pension for his years with the company that will total more than $17 million.

The Gulf oil spill has also hit BP's balance sheet and the company announced it will sell $30 billion in assets during the next 18 months. It is a huge blow for BP says Faulkner.

"It will be a smaller company because of this, and it will have lost a great deal of capital that it needs now to invest in future oil exploration," added Faulkner. "So, BP's phenomenal growth in recent years has been halted, slightly reversed, but the important thing is it has survived so far; it has avoided hostile takeover; it has avoided bankruptcy so far."

It all depends, says Faulkner, on whether the damaged well can be fixed, the spill stopped permanently and how well clean-up operations go.