BP to see full Whiting refinery upgrade benefits in 2014: CEO

BP Plc likely won't see the full financial benefits of the $4 billion upgrade at its Indiana refinery until 2014, Chief Executive Bob Dudley told analysts on Tuesday.

He said the project, which will substantially increase the 405,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Whiting plant's ability to process cheap Canadian heavy crude, remains on target to wrap up in the second half of 2013. The restart and commissioning process will take six to nine months after that, he said.

The plant's largest crude distillation unit shut in November as part of the upgrade project and remains on schedule to be out "until the middle of the year," Dudley said.

(Reporting By Kristen Hays; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)