BP profit beats estimates as refining offsets oil-price plunge

[LONDON] BP Plc, Europe's second-biggest oil company, reported first-quarter profit that beat analysts' estimates as earnings from refining and trading offset lower crude prices.

Profit adjusted for one-time items and inventory changes dropped 19 per cent from a year earlier to US$2.6 billion from a year earlier, the London-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. That beat the US$1.2 billion average forecast of 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley is setting the company up for a longer period of low oil prices by slashing spending, reviewing new projects and selling assets. Profit margins from refineries rose in the first quarter as the drop in oil prices boosted global demand for gasoline and other fuels.

"We are resetting and rebalancing BP to meet the challenges of a possible period of sustained lower prices," Mr Dudley said in the statement.

Brent crude, a benchmark for more than half the world's oil, has dropped more than 40 percent in the past year. This has eroded value and forced companies to reduce spending on high- cost project as they struggle for revenue. The expenditure cuts have driven oil up about 16 per cent this month.

BP said in February it expects capital expenditure this year to be US$20 billion, lower than an earlier forecast of at least US$24 billion. It spent about US$23 billion in 2014.

It's joining Chevron Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc in selling non-drilling infrastructure to raise funds. The company has offloaded more than US$7 billion of assets in a US$10 billion sale program planned for 2014 and 2015.

BP on April 23 announced it agreed to sell its stake in a natural-gas transportation system in the UK. North Sea to Antin Infrastructure Partners for 324 million pounds (US$486 million). The company is also seeking buyers for as much as US$2 billion of US pipelines and storage terminals, people familiar with the matter said this month.

BLOOMBERG