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BP profits tumble after weaker oil prices and hurricane impact


BP’s profits have fallen sharply as global oil prices tumble amid gloomy forecasts for the global economy.

The oil major reported underlying profits of $2.3bn (£1.76bn) for the last three months on Tuesday morning, compared with $3.8bn in the same months last year.

The decline comes just weeks after BP announced its chief executive Bob Dudley would step down after almost a decade at the helm.

Dudley blamed weaker global oil prices, a string of one-off financial costs and the impact of Hurricane Barry, which dealt a “significant” blow to BP’s oil production in the Gulf of Mexico in July.

Dudley will end his four-decade career at BP early next year and be replaced in February by Bernard Looney, currently head of exploration and production.

The profits from Looney’s business division fell to $2.1bn for the last quarter, from $3.4bn in the same months last year following a fall in the global oil price.

The oil price has slumped to an average of $62 a barrel in the last quarter, from more than $75 a barrel a year ago.

The oil price slide comes a year after the oil major agreed to buy a $10.5bn stake in the US shale boom from BHP Billiton, in a deal seen as a show of confidence that global oil prices would remain at about $70 a barrel.

Brian Gilvary, the BP chief financial officer, told Bloomberg the company was able to get the deal over the line due to higher oil prices over last summer – and he expected oil prices to remain at about $70 a barrel.

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There has been growing public opposition in recent months to the fossil fuel giant’s contribution to the climate crisis. Earlier this month the Royal Shakespeare Company ended its sponsorship deal and protesters targeted the National Portrait Gallery over BP’s ongoing support.

An investigation by the Guardian revealed that 20 oil and gas companies – including BP, Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Total – could be directly linked to a third of greenhouse gas emissions since 1965.

The companies are planning to keep increasing their oil production, despite global efforts to avoid a runaway climate crisis by limiting carbon emissions, in large part from US shale reserves.



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