BP chief executive Tony Hayward said today that the energy giant will restructure its organizational structure in an attempt to improve performance.

The move was widely expected, after reports that Hayward told a group of BP managers that he planned to announce a restructuring. During the same meeting late last month, he reportedly said that BP's third quarter results would be "dreadful."

In today's announcement, the company said it will move to a structure with just two business segments: exploration and production, and refining and marketing. Its third segment, gas, power, and renewables, will be folded into the other two. A separate division will focus on alternative energy.

"It is clear that BP's overall strategy remains robust," Hayward said in a statement. "Our problem is not about the strategy itself but about our execution of it. 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 organization has grown too complex. At the root of all this is a need to change our behaviors."

The restructuring follows a six-month review of BP's operations.

BP has had a series of setbacks recently, including a 2005 explosion at its Texas oil refinery that killed 15 workers, and an Alaska oil spill in 2006. Production from that plant, along with two of its four other U.S.-based facilities, is still not at full capacity. It has also had to delay projects in the Gulf of Mexico, and has faced obstacles with production in Russia, where the government has recently taken steps to control more oil.

BP will release its third quarter results on October 23.