Tony Hayward a "long line of PR gaffes" by attending the race while the Gulf oil spill continued. In June, BP put Mississippi native Bob Dudley in charge of handling the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Dudley was appointed president and chief executive of the newly created Gulf Coast Restoration Organization, reporting to Hayward. Following the "Deepwater Horizon" oil spill, there were rumours that Hayward would resign, but the company dismissed these. A BBC report said that a BP press release stated that Hayward "has the full confidence of the board of directors of BP." BP announced on 27 July 2010 that
Economic effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill approximately $23 billion, in a region that supports over 400,000 travel industry jobs generating $34 billion in revenue annually. On 1 November, BP announced plans to spend $78 million to help Louisiana tourism and test and advertise seafood. The real estate prices and a number of transactions in the Gulf of Mexico area decreased significantly during the period of the oil spill. As a result, area officials wanted the state legislature to allow property tax to be paid based on current market value, which according to Florida State Rep. Dave Murzin could mean millions of dollars in losses for each