BP's new CEO to simplify company structure into upstream, downstream units

* BP had upstream/downstream structure before 2020 transition push

* No ​clear ⁠timeline set yet for reorganisation

* Meg ​O'Neill became CEO on April 1 (Adds background in paragraphs 5-8)

LONDON, April 14 (Reuters) - ​BP ‌will reorganise into two main business units - upstream and downstream - under new CEO Meg O'Neill, ⁠who took the helm on April 1 ⁠to become the oil major's fifth ​chief since 2020, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

"In service of becoming a simpler, stronger, more valuable BP, we intend to build an organisation with a clear ​upstream ‌and downstream," the spokesperson said, confirming an earlier Financial Times report about the change.

There is no set timeline for the new structure, BP said.

BP currently has three main business units. Its gas and low carbon unit includes ​gas-focused production. The oil production and operations unit includes its oil-focused production, ‌its U.S. onshore business and refinery operations, while customers and products encompasses fuel sales, petrol retail stations and lubricants.

This week, ‌Emma Delaney left her role as BP's customers and products chief and is set to become OMV chief executive in September.

U.S. hedge fund Elliott, which holds ​a stake of just over 5% in BP, has called for the company to reorganise ‌into one upstream and one downstream unit, a source said a year ago.

Two weeks ago, BP named Carol Howle as O'Neill's deputy chief executive, saying ⁠she would ⁠oversee the company's ongoing portfolio review and strategy development,and ‌be in charge of supply, trading and shipping.

BP had two main units for upstream and ​downstream before then-CEO Bernard ​Looney overhauled the organisation in 2020 as part of ‌a major push into renewable energy, a strategy for which the company was punished by investors. (Reporting by Shadia Nasralla. Additional reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru. Editing by Joe Bavier and Mark Potter)

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