BP moving 1,200 employees from Warrenville-Naperville offices

Oil company BP is moving about 1,200 employees from the western suburbs of Chicago to downtown.

The workers' new base will be the Chicago Mercantile Exchange building. Many traders are in the process of leaving the building as part of CME's shift to space in its recently purchased Chicago Board of Trade.

BP spokeswoman Valerie Corr says the company expects to complete a lease agreement for space in the Merc building this summer. BP's local base of operations is in the Warrenville-Naperville area.

CME spokesman Allan Schoenberg says the financial exchange company will retain its headquarters in the Merc building even though virtually all floor trading is moving to the Board of Trade.