BP's chief executive today outlined a plan to address company profitability and reduce "unacceptably high" costs.
BP plans to cut management, reduce the number of operating segments from three to two and force the adoption of standardised procedures across the company, which in the past has often duplicated procedures among its disparate units.
CEO Tony Hayward said the plan was the result of a six-month review started when he took over in May.
"BP's performance has materially lagged our peer group in the last three years. It has been poor because we are not consistent, and our organisation has grown too complex," CEO Tony Hayward said.
BP has suffered delays on key projects such as the Thunder Horse and Atlantis fields in the Gulf of Mexico.
Mr Hayward said he expected the gap between BP's financial performance and its competitors to narrow in the fourth quarter, as major new fields start up and the company's refineries return to full capacity.