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* Lamar McKay, 57, has worked alongside Dudley since Amoco
* BP source says move is not about succession
* BP says McKay to help run company amid oil price storm (Adds details, background)
By Ron Bousso and Dmitry Zhdannikov
LONDON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - BP has promoted Lamar McKayto a newly created role of deputy chief executive, the companysaid on Monday, adding that the veteran production boss wouldhelp the oil major navigate the challenging environment ofrock-bottom crude prices.
The elevation of McKay, 57, into the No.2 position at BP,scrapped back in 2003, follows similar patterns at other majorssuch as Exxon Mobil, where an heir apparent to the chiefexecutive is first promoted to the second-highest ranking job.
But a BP source said the new job for McKay should not beinterpreted as a succession plan for CEO Bob Dudley, 60, who hasbeen in charge of the company since 2010.
"This is not about succession. It is more short term thanthat. There is a lot to do right now in this challenging periodfor the industry," the source said.
Oil prices have fallen 70 percent since mid 2014,reaching their lowest since late 2003 last month.
BP said in a statement: "Lamar's new role will allow us tofurther concentrate our attention on BP's highest prioritiesthrough this challenging time for our whole industry."
Dudley took over at BP soon after the deadly Macondo spillin the U.S. Gulf, which nearly ruined the company and forced itto sell more than $50 billion of assets in order to pay for thefines and clean-up costs, which have exceeded $55 billion.
Last year, BP agreed to pay more than $20 billion in finesto the U.S. government and plaintiffs to resolve nearly alloutstanding claims, marking the largest corporate settlement ofits kind in U.S. history.
Following the settlement, Dudley has said BP is ready toenter a new era of growth.
McKay's responsibilities in the newly created position willinclude strategy and long-term planning, safety and operationalrisk, technology, and corporate governance, including ethics andcompliance, the company said.
McKay will be succeeded by Bernard Looney, currently chiefoperating officer of upstream production, as head of upstream.
BP scrapped the role of deputy chief executive in early 2003after the departure of Rodney Chase.
The announcement comes a day before BP reports its 2015fourth-quarter and full-year results, which are expected to showyet another sharp drop in profits as a result of the oil priceslide over the past 18 months.
That has led it to slash spending three times and launch a$2.5 billion restructuring programme that will include thousandsof job cuts.
Dudley and McKay worked together at Amoco before it wasbought by BP at the turn of the millennium. (Reporting by Ron Bousso, editing by Louise Heavens and JanHarvey)
