June 9 (Reuters) - BP said on Tuesday that company veteran Gordon Birrell would lead its upstream unit and Richard Harding will be interim head of the downstream unit as part of the firm's previously announced organisational change into two main business segments.
BP, which fired its former chairman Albert Manifold last month over bullying allegations, is vying to rebuild investor trust by cutting costs and debt while refocusing on its core oil and gas businesses.
Following a classic integrated oil
and gas company structure, upstream will bring together BP's oil and gas activities, including exploration, development and production as well as its upstream joint ventures and its renewable natural gas and carbon capture businesses.
Downstream will include refining, terminals, pipelines, mobility and convenience, biofuels, aviation, hydrogen and its Castrol lubricants brand.
For operational purposes, the new structure will take effect from July 1, while for external purposes such as financial reporting, it will do so from January 1, 2027.
Birrell had been in charge of BP's production and operations business, after many other leading roles at the group. Harding replaced Emma Delaney, BP's former customers and products business chief, who left BP in April.
(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla in London, Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar, Kirsten Donovan)
