BP to create new safety division in wake of spill

Robert Dudley shook up the structure of the British oil giant BP today, just two days before he is scheduled to take over as chief executive.

Mr. Dudley announced that BP would set up a new global safety division and make other changes to the way it operates as it seeks to absorb some lessons from the explosion of a oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year. As part of the changes, Andy Inglis, the head of exploration and production who was in charge of sealing the blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico, will leave the company.

The moves, Mr. Dudley said, were “the first and most urgent steps in a program I am putting in place to rebuild trust in BP — the trust of our customers, of governments, of our employees and of the world at large. The changes are in areas where I believe we most clearly need to act,” he said, “with safety and risk management our most urgent priority.”

In a message to BP staff around the world, Mr. Dudley said that “there are lessons for us relating to the way we operate, the way we organize our company and the way we manage risk.”

BP said the new division would aim to improve risk management and safety, and also review how the company manages agreements with contractors. The plans were announced as Mr. Dudley prepares to take over as chief executive on Friday. He had pledged earlier this year after accepting the job that he would review not only BP’s safety procedures and its operations, but company culture as well.

The new safety division, to be led by Mark Bly, would be “powerful” and “designed to strengthen safety and risk management across the BP group,” the company said in a statement. “It will be responsible for ensuring that all operations are carried out to common standards.”

More at the New York Times.