BP selects new president for Gulf of Mexico and Canada regions

Oil major BP has named a new regional president for the Gulf of Mexico and Canada, effective February 1, 2018.

BP said on Thursday that Starlee Sykes, who will continue to be based in Houston, would be the regional president for GoM and Canada.

She currently serves as the vice president for BP’s global projects organization for offshore projects.

Bernard Looney, BP’s upstream CEO, said: “Starlee is uniquely qualified to take on this important role, with more than 20 years of upstream experience across project management, offshore operations, subsea engineering, and finance and a proven track record as a leader. She is the right person to lead these two regions into the future.”

Sykes will succeed Richard Morrison, who chose to retire following 37 years of service with BP.

She began her career as a subsea operations engineer. Later, she rose to leadership roles including vice president projects performance, vice president developments for the Gulf of Mexico, and founder and director of BP’s global subsea hardware organization.

More recently, and in addition to leading a global portfolio of over 30 major projects, Sykes was the lead on two major Gulf of Mexico projects, including the redesign of the Mad Dog 2 platform and the Thunder Horse South Expansion project, which came online 11 months ahead of schedule and $150 million under budget.

In her new role, she will serve as the chairman of BP Exploration & Production and will be a member of the board of directors for BP America Inc. She will also serve on the board of directors for the Center for Offshore Safety and on the industry advisory board for Texas A&M’s Department of Petroleum Engineering.

Elsewhere, Sykes is the executive sponsor for BP’s annual Houston United Way campaign, and is recognized as an advocate for women in engineering and advancing careers for women and girls in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).