BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward met representatives of Abu Dhabi government investment body Mubadala Wednesday after discussions with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

Reuters reporters saw Hayward with Mubadala Chief Operating Officer Walid al-Muhairi at Mubadala premises Wednesday.

The meeting came as speculation mounts that a Middle East or Asian sovereign wealth fund (SWF) would buy a stake in the company to help it ward off takeovers and pay the rising cost of cleaning up the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

BP has said it has no plans to issue new equity.

Earlier Wednesday, Hayward met officials from ADIA, one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, on a visit to the United Arab Emirates, a UAE official said.

Hayward also met Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, Tuesday, another source said.

Hayward left the UAE Wednesday, according to an airport official.

Mubadala is one of several vehicles used by Abu Dhabi to invest oil revenues and holds some energy assets. Abu Dhabi holds most of the crude reserves in the UAE, the world's third-largest oil exporter.

Another of the investment vehicles, the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), was not interested in buying a stake in BP, an IPIC source said. IPIC invests in global oil and gas assets.

(Reporting by Amena Bakr, Stanley Carvalho and Simon Webb; Editing by Erica Billingham)

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