BP unveiled a reorganisation of its oil and gas production operations yesterday, reversing a change it enacted after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The latest move is partly intended to free chief executive Bob Dudley up from close oversight of day-to-day operations so he can help chart BP’s recovery from the disaster which killed 11 men and spilled five million barrels of crude into the sea, according to sources.

Lamar McKay, head of BP’s US operations, will become head of a new exploration and production unit, a reinstatement of a role that was abolished in 2010, after the oil spill.

BP directors agreed on the reorganisation some months ago, said two sources, but wanted to delay announcing it until it had made further progress with the US authorities on settling investigations around the spill. – (Reuters)