Mr. McKay is taking over from BP’s chief executive, Robert W. Dudley, who took over management of the so-called upstream unit in an effort to improve risk management in the wake of the spill. Mr. McKay, who is currently chairman and president of BP America, is to start in his new role at the beginning of next year. He will report to Mr. Dudley.

“During the past two years, we have successfully introduced a more centralized organization to our upstream, BP’s largest organizational change for two decades,” Mr. Dudley said in a statement. “I believe it is now timely and appropriate to appoint a fully dedicated chief executive to this, our largest business.”

The explosion in April 2010 on a drilling platform leased by BP killed 11 workers and created the largest oil spill in U.S. history. After the catastrophe, Andy G. Inglis departed as head of exploration and production and Mr. Dudley moved to impose a more centralized management structure and stricter safety standards.

As head of BP America, Mr. McKay, 53, has been overseeing the oil company’s restoration work on the Gulf of Mexico coast. Mr. McKay, who is already a member of BP’s executive management team, will move to London from Houston for his new post. His successor at the U.S. unit will be announced later, BP said.

Mr. McKay joined BP through the company’s merger with Amoco, where he started his career in 1980. At BP, he previously worked as chief of staff for exploration and production, was responsible for the upstream and downstream, or sale and distribution, businesses in Russia and Kazakhstan, and led talks with BP’s former partners in its Russian joint venture, TNK-BP. He was named chairman and president of BP America in January 2009.

BP plans to start nine major development projects by the end of 2014, according to its Web site, in areas including Angola, the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and Azerbaijan.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/24/business/global/bp-names-chief-of-oil-production-business.html?partner=rss&emc=rss