BP CEO tells staff that company reorganisation to start in June, sources say

LONDON, May 7 (Reuters) - BP CEO Meg O'Neill ​told staff ‌on Thursday that a reorganisation into two main business units - upstream and ⁠downstream - will start in June, three sources ⁠familiar with the call ​said. BP said in April it would restructure along those lines, though it did not give a timeline. The move is among ​the ‌first under O'Neill, who took over on April 1 as the oil major's fifth chief since 2020. BP currently has three main business units. Its gas and low carbon unit includes gas-focused ​production, while oil production and operations covers oil output, its U.S. ‌onshore business and refining. The customers and products unit includes fuel sales, petrol stations and lubricants. The gas ‌business and BP's carbon capture and storage initiatives will move into the upstream unit, while low carbon and biofuels will shift to ​downstream, two of the sources said. O'Neill and Chair Albert Manifold have emphasised ‌a "simpler" BP with a renewed focus on oil and gas investment. BP previously operated with upstream and downstream units before then-CEO Bernard Looney ⁠reorganised ⁠the company in 2020 as part ‌of a push into renewables, a strategy that drew investor criticism. "In service of becoming ​a simpler, ​stronger, more valuable BP, we intend to build ‌an organisation with a clear upstream and downstream," BP said in response to this story. (Reporting by Stephanie Kelly and Shadia Nasralla. Editing by Alex Richardson and Mark Potter)

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