Oil giant, British Petroleum (BP),
recorded the worst profit in 10 years mainly due to Libya Write-off,
trading and the need to cover the costs of the Deepwater Horizon
tragedy.
According to Bloomberg, BP profit adjusted
for one-time items and inventory changes dropped to $1.3 billion in the
second quarter, 64 percent lower than a year earlier. BP will provide a
further $18.7 billion to five US states affected by the 2010 oil-spill
tragedy that killed 11 workers and spewed millions of gallons of crude
into the Gulf of Mexico. BP said the settlement would bring its full
obligations to $54.6 billion.
Besides, the Deepwater Horizon tragedy, BP
recorded a fall in the profits, due to low oil prices and the
turbulence in Libya. In the past few weeks oil prices have fallen back
in response to continued oversupply and market weakness and the recent
agreements regarding Iran. BP CEO Bob Dudley said about the low oil
prices: “I am confident that positioning BP for a period of weaker
prices is the right course to take, and will serve the company well for
the future.”
In regard with Libya, BP reported
exploration write-downs and other costs totaling $598 million. This
includes a $432 million write-off because there is “significant
uncertainty on when drilling operations might be able to proceed.”
“The miss is primarily because of the
Libyan charge,” Jason Gammel, a London-based analyst at Jefferies Group
LLC, said by phone to Bloomberg. “BP is restructuring costs and that’s
working out well for them as oil continues to be lower,” he added.
http://www.neurope.eu/article/bp-records-another-fall-in-profit/