BP dissapointed private investors as the share price slid even though a
Massive 136 percent jump in profits were recorded for the last quarter.
This was already expected and comments from Lord Browne saying falls in oil expected have brought also helped the stock down.
He says can stand oil price even below $16 pb
The hostage situation in Nigeria getting bad maybe BP putting on some weight today?
Locals want enviroment cleaned up and profits shared.
Any chance?

Q4 ex-divi date 13th Feb 2013.
Q1 ex-divi date 8th May 2013.

Link copied - BP Seeks Judge's Ruling on Size of Gulf Oil Spill

NEW ORLEANS January 12, 2013 (AP)
BP urged a federal judge Friday to rule the company can't be penalized for millions of gallons of oil that spewed from its blown-out well but was captured before it could spill into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

A court filing by London-based BP PLC says workers captured more than 34 million gallons — 810,000 barrels — of crude and either burned it or shipped it to shore before it could enter the Gulf waters.

The company asked U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier to rule that the collected oil can't be counted in calculating the company's Clean Water Act penalties, which could amount to billions of dollars.

A criminal settlement with the Justice Department in November didn't resolve the government's civil claims against BP.

In Friday's filing, BP lawyers also vowed to prove at trial that the federal government overestimated the size of the spill.

Algeria siege: Military operation under way

17 January 2013 Last updated at 14:01

An Algerian military operation is under way at a gas facility in eastern Algeria where hostages are being held, the British Foreign Office says.

Algerian soldiers had been surrounding the facility near In Amenas that kidnappers occupied on Wednesday, after killing a Briton and an Algerian.

Media reports quoting militants said 34 hostages and at least 14 kidnappers had been killed in the operation.

RNS Number : 2274W

Office of Fair Trading

23 January 2013

The OFT has published the text of its decision taken on 11 January 2013 on the completed acquisition by Flogas UK Limited (part of DCC) of BP's LPG distribution business (now trading as MacGas), which was cleared. This decision can be found on the Office of Fair Trading's website at www.oft.gov.uk.

BP starts production from new North Sea platform

LONDON | Mon Jan 28, 2013 12:49pm GMT
(Reuters) - BP (BP.L) has started production from new facilities at its Valhall field in the Norwegian North Sea, aiming to ramp up to 65,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the second half of 2013, the company said.

Valhall's previous output averaged about 42,000 barrels per day, feeding crude into the Ekofisk oil stream, which forms part of the Brent oil pricing benchmark.

The Ekofisk crude stream as whole will produce some 278,000 bpd in February.

BBC - BP's record $4bn Deepwater criminal penalties approved

A US court has approved the biggest criminal penalties in US history given to British oil giant BP as part of a settlement related to the fatal 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.

In November, BP said it would pay $4bn (£2.5bn) to the US Department of Justice and agreed to plead guilty to 14 criminal charges.

The sum included a $1.26bn fine.

Reuters - U.S. judge okays BP plea, $4 billion penalty in Gulf oil spill

Wed Jan 30, 2013 1:48am GMT

(Reuters) - A U.S. judge accepted an agreement by BP Plc to plead guilty for its role in the Deepwater Horizon disaster and pay a record $4 billion (£2.5 billion) in criminal penalties for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

The company said it pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts related to workers' deaths, a felony related to obstruction of Congress and two misdemeanours. It faces five years' probation and the imposition of two monitors who will oversee its safety and ethics for the next four years.

And the RNS

BP announces US District Court approval for plea

BP today announced that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana has accepted the company's plea resolving all federal criminal charges against the company stemming from the Deepwater Horizon accident, oil spill, and response. The company offered its plea to the Court and was sentenced in connection with the agreement BP reached with the Department of Justice (DOJ) on November 15, 2012.

sp rising heading for 500p.

Angola production starts at BP-operated PSVM

Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola (Sonangol E.P.), as the concessionaire, BP Exploration Angola, as the operator, and the partners of Block 31, today announced that production from the PSVM development area in Block 31, offshore Angola, has started.

Initial production comes from three production wells in Plutao field and is expected to ramp up to around 70,000 barrels of oil per day. PSVM is expected to build towards plateau rates of 150,000 barrels of oil per day over the coming year with the additional production from Saturno and Venus fields in 2013 and Marte in 2014.

Bob Dudley, BP group chief executive, said: "PSVM is one of the largest subsea developments in the world and was one of BP's key project start-ups for 2012 as we grow higher-margin production. Over the coming decade, we expect Angola, where we have extensive interests from exploration through to production, to be one of the main hubs delivering growth for BP."

final results next week(tuesday)

Fourth Quarter 2012 Results

4Q2012 SEA Part 1 of 1


BP today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2012. Underlying replacement cost profit, adjusted for non-operating items and fair value accounting effects, was $4.0 billion for the fourth quarter, compared to $5.0 billion for the same period in 2011. For the full year, underlying replacement cost profit was $17.6 billion compared to $21.7 billion in 2011.

Bob Dudley, BP Group Chief Executive, said: "We have moved past many milestones in 2012, repositioning BP through divestments and bringing on new projects. This lays a solid foundation for growth into the long term. Moving through 2013 we will deliver further operational milestones and remain on track for delivery of our ten-point strategic plan, including our target for operating cash flow growth, by 2014."

Operating cash flow in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $6.3 billion, and $20.4 billion for the full year compared to $22.2 billion in 2011. At the end of 2012, BP's net debt was $27.5 billion - down from $31.5 billion at the end of the third quarter - representing a gearing level of 18.7%, within BP's 10-20% target gearing range.

BP announced a quarterly dividend of 9 cents a share, to be paid in March.

results and dividend are better than expected.

Why the crash then?

twitchy in front of Deepwater Horizon legal claims

.

BP urged to keep up Gulf expansion

BP should keep expanding its operations in the Gulf of Mexico even as the company braces for the start of a trial to determine blame for America’s worst offshore oil spill, a leading investor has said.

During the long-delayed and high-profile trial, which is due to start in New Orleans on February 25, US government prosecutors will try to pin the blame for the 2010 spill on BP and secure a fine that could reach $20bn (£13bn).
Despite the unwelcome publicity the trial is expected to generate in the states that line the Gulf, City investors say that the region must remain central to BP’s future.
“The Gulf of Mexico is a key area,” said one top-five shareholder who asked to remain anonymous. “It is part of the investment case in BP.”

U.S. judge accepts BP collected 810,000 barrels in spill

LONDON/SAN FRANCISCO | Wed Feb 20, 2013 5:11am GMT

(Reuters) - A U.S. judge ruled on Tuesday that BP Plc recovered 810,000 barrels of oil from its 2010 spill site and that this amount should be excluded from certain penalties it may face, cutting its maximum fine by as much as $3.5 billion (2.2 billion pounds).

Just days before he presides over a spill-related civil trial due to start on February 25 in New Orleans, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier deemed those barrels as 'collected' during the spill. BP had sought this reduction in the penalty-relevant total more than a month ago.

"The 'Collected Oil' flowed from the subsurface reservoir, through the well, through the blow-out preventer, and never came into contact with any ambient sea water, and was not released to the environment in any way," the ruling said.

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Worth a read What will the Deepwater Horizon trial mean for BP's share price?

Thank you Skinny,

It concludes that the production and profit is improving rapidly.