BP Report a First Quarter Profit of $4.2 Billion, 30% more than Forecast

On Tuesday BP reported first quarter profits for 2013 of $4.2 billion, 30 percent more than analysts had forecast.

Peter Hutton, and analyst at RBC Capital Markets, explained that successful start-ups in Angola and Norway, better than expected performance in Trinidad, and a reduction in predicted costs, enabled BP to record such a good start to the year.

Despite the good profits, production in the US did fall another 18 percent compared to 2012, but then since the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico BP is a lot smaller company, having reigned back a lot of its operations in the US.

As part of Robert W. Dudley’s, BP’s chief executive officer, strategy to create a more focussed and profitable company BP has sold nearly $65 billion in assets since 2010.

Related article: Time for Investors to Turn their Attention to the Gulf of Mexico

Mr. Dudley stated that “these strong first-quarter results demonstrate the progress BP is making.”

BP’s net income for the period was $16.6 billion, up from just $4.8 billion a year before, however much of this increase was a result of the sale of its shares in TNK-BP to Rosneft. Officially BP gained $15.5 billion in the deal, but for accounting purposes only $12.5 billion of that was recorded this quarter, with the extra $3 billion on deferral until later years.

Production in the US should start to increase shortly as BP begins extensive drilling programs to boost key fields to their optimal output levels.

By. James Burgess of Oilprice.com