LONDON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - BP on Monday announced theappointment of Lamar McKay as the British oil and gas company'sdeputy chief executive in a reshuffle aimed at simplifying thecompany's top decision making.
McKay, currently head of BP's oil and gas production, orupstream business, will be succeeded by Bernard Looney,currently chief operating officer of upstream production, BPsaid.
"These changes simplify, focus and better alignaccountabilities within our experienced and versatile seniorteam," Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said in a statement.
"In particular Lamar's new role will allow us to furtherconcentrate our attention on BP's highest priorities throughthis challenging time for our whole industry."
(Reporting by Ron Bousso, editing by Louise Heavens)