BP reports quarterly £3.2 billion profit down on Q1

July 26, 2011 | Budget & Investment

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British oil group BP said today that it had benefited from higher oil prices as it reported quarterly profits of 5.3 billion US dollars (£3.2 billion).

The oil giant made a loss of 16.9 billion US dollars (£10.3 million) in the same period a year ago – but this was in the aftermath of the Gulf of  Mexico oil spill disaster.

The group said production was 11% lower in the period following suspension of drilling in the Gulf of  Mexico and 25 billion US dollars (£15.3 billion) worth of asset sales.

But this was offset by higher oil prices, driven up in the period by political unrest in the Middle East andNorth Africa, as well as higher refining margins – the difference between the value of crude oil and the products it is used for.

The Gulf of Mexico clean-up continued in the quarter – with 6.8 billion US dollars (£4.1 billion) now paid out in claims and in government payments to fund economic and environmental restoration.

Oil prices began to climb early this year as political turmoil spread from Tunisia through Egypt and on to Libya. Supplies were constricted by civil war in Libya, which pushed prices even higher.

BP said the average cost of Brent crude in the period was 117.04 US dollars a barrel – a 50% increase compared with 78.24 US dollars in the same period last year.

The company also said it was benefiting from improved refining margins – up to 13% from 11%.

The improved margins come as the cost of petrol at the pumps hit 135.6 pence per litre in June, according to the Office for National Statistics.

BP’s shares fell 2% today after the results came in below City expectations for replacement cost profits of 6 billion US dollars (£3.7 billion), compared with the reported figure of 5.3 billion US dollars.

BP warned that production in the third quarter – July to September – would continue to reflect its 30 billion US dollars divestment programme.

The company has sold assets in the US, Argentina, Egypt,Venezuela,Vietnam and Colombia to meet its Gulf of Mexico bill.

But the company said it is making strategic progress, purchasing exploration blocks in Brazil, securing operations in Azerbaijan and signing an alliance deal withIndia’s Reliance Industries.

However, BP was dealt a major blow in May when it failed to secure a share swap and Arctic exploration deal with Russian oil group Rosneft.

The failure piled further pressure on chief executive Bob Dudley, who is trying to turn around the group following last year’s fatal Deepwater Horizon explosion.

Mr Dudley said: “BP is a company that is changing rapidly. Having stabilised the company while living up to our commitments in the US, we will now increase our focus on performance and long-term value creation.

“We are committed to seeing the true value of the business more strongly reflected in our share price.