British Petroleum appoints Spencer Dale as new Group Chief Economist

LONDON: BP, Europe's second largest oil firm, today announced appointment of Spencer Dale as its new Group Chief Economist with effect from the end of October.

Dale joins BP from the Bank of England where he is currently Executive Director for Financial Stability Strategy and Risk. He is also a member of the Bank's Financial Policy Committee, BP said in a statement.

He replaces Christof Ruhl, BP's highly respected chief economist, who quit the company to become the first global head of research at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

Ruhl, 55, is credited with enhancing the public profile of BP's economic research. His job was to provide senior management with insights on economic and energy market trends that helped to mould the company's strategy.

After nine years at BP, Ruhl, who previously was World Bank's chief economist in Russia and Brazil, quit the company in May.

BP said as Group Chief Economist, Dale will be responsible for advising the company Board and executive team on economic drivers and trends in global energy.

"He will lead an international team of senior economists whose responsibilities include overseeing the preparation and presentation of the annual BP Statistical Review of World Energy and the BP Energy Outlook," it said.

In his previous capacity as the Bank's Chief Economist, Dale served for six years on the Monetary Policy Committee.

Since joining the Bank in 1989, his roles included working as private secretary to former Governor Mervyn King and a secondment as a visiting Senior Adviser in the Division of Monetary Affairs at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in the United States.

Welcoming the appointment, Dev Sanyal, BP's Executive Vice President Strategy and Regions, said: "Spencer's deep experience in central banking and his communications and financial markets background will be invaluable as we look to understand the future of energy markets globally."