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?

BP and partners announce $500m Clair field appraisal

A consortium of oil companies is to invest more than $500m (£330m) in an appraisal drilling programme which could lead to further development of a giant North Sea field.

The BP-led consortium said drilling had already started on the first of five wells planned over the next two years at Clair, west of Shetland.

Up to 12 wells could be drilled, depending on initial results.

The news came as the UK government unveiled a new oil and gas strategy.

Another slant :-Ruling against BP clears way for appeal of spill payouts

NEW ORLEANS | Fri Apr 5, 2013 8:47pm BST
(Reuters) - A U.S. judge's ruling Friday against BP Plc means the company can proceed with its appeal of the way a court-appointed administrator apportions payments for claims related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, some of which BP called "absurd."

Federal District Judge Carl Barbier said he found no reason to reverse his decision last month to uphold the payout process. This was despite BP's protest at payouts including $21 million (13.6 million pounds) for a Louisiana rice mill 40 miles (64 km) from the coast which earned more revenue in 2010 than in any of the previous three years.

A couple of links copied from over the road.

An explosion in oil-munching bacteria made fast work of BP oil spill, scientist says

Much of the oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010 disappeared within weeks of the capping of BPâÂÂs Macondo well on July 15, digested by a massive explosion in oil-eating microorganisms, said Terry Hazen, a professor of environmental biology at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, during a Monday panel at the national conference of the American Chemical Society in New Orleans.

BP followed industry practices in drilling Macondo well, retired LSU professor testifies

A retired Louisiana State University professor testified in the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill trial Monday that the British oil giant carried out its Macondo drilling project in line with standard industry practices, but acknowledged that he couldn't understand how the rig crew misinterpreted a key test that preceded the well blowout.

First phase of BP spill trial comes to an end

NEW ORLEANS | Thu Apr 18, 2013 2:38am BST

(Reuters) - The first phase of a trial to determine blame for BP Plc's 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill came to an end on Wednesday, with the judge allowing 80 days for the determination of findings and conclusions.

It ended only three days before the three-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, which killed 11 people and caused the worst U.S. offshore spill.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said he would allow 60 days for the filing of briefs, and then 20 more days for reply briefs, as the parties work toward a September start of the second phase of the trial, which will consider the amount of oil spilled in order to determine damages.

will the yanks blame BP for the texas explosion .it can never be a yank

Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA) has maintained its 'buy' rating and 540p target price for BP, saying that the stock remains a top pick amongst European oil majors after a capital markets day from Rosneft delivered a 'confident message'.

Rosneft, in which BP holds a 19.75% stake, "gave a confident and well-received strategy presentation" at its capital markets day in London on Tuesday, according to BofA. "In our view, management communicated a strong focus on creating shareholder value whilst transforming Rosneft into a global oil major," the broker said.

BP's sp has hardly improved over the past 10 years isn't it time investors gave their management a kick up the backside or sacked them, this company has become management institutionalised?

1st Quarter Results

Press release: BP first quarter 2013 results


BP today announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2013. Underlying replacement cost profit for the quarter was $4.2 billion, compared to $3.9 billion in the fourth quarter and $4.7 billion in the first quarter of 2012.

Operating cash flow in the quarter was $4.0 billion, compared with $3.4 billion in the first quarter of 2012. BP announced a quarterly dividend of 9 cents a share, to be paid in June.

Bob Dudley, BP Group Chief Executive, said: "These strong first quarter results demonstrate the progress BP is making in delivering the performance milestones that support our 10-point plan and underpin our commitment to material operating cash flow growth by 2014.

"The early completion of the sale of our interest in TNK-BP has also allowed us to begin a share buy-back programme which we expect to return up to $8 billion to our shareholders and reflects the reduction in BP's asset base following our divestment programme over the past three years."

The buy-back programme is expected to be executed over 12-18 months. As of 26 April, BP had bought back 120 million shares for a total amount of $834 million, including fees and stamp duty. BP intends to retain the balance of the cash received from the TNK-BP transaction to reduce net debt as part of its commitment to maintaining a strong balance sheet.

BP completed the sale of its interest in TNK-BP to Rosneft on 21 March, for a total consideration of $27.5 billion in cash and Rosneft shares. BP now holds a total 19.75% interest in Rosneft. The 11 days of earnings from Rosneft in the first quarter of 2013 is estimated at $85 million.

The gain on the disposal was $15.5 billion, of which $12.5 billion was recognised and reported as a non-operating item in the first quarter. $3.0 billion of the gain was deferred and will be released to the income statement over time.

Largely as a result of the Russia transaction, net debt at the end of the first quarter fell to $17.7 billion, equivalent to a gearing level of 11.9%, in the lower half of BP's 10-20% target range.

In BP's upstream business, underlying production of oil and gas -- adjusted for the impact of divestments and production sharing agreement effects, and excluding TNK-BP and Rosneft -- was over 4% higher than in the previous quarter as production ramped-up from major projects in high-margin areas - Angola and the North Sea. Compared with a year earlier, underlying production was around 2% higher.

Reported production of oil and gas excluding TNK-BP and Rosneft was 2.33 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, around 2% higher than the fourth quarter but 5% lower than the same period in 2012, primarily due to divestments. Following the Rosneft transaction, total oil and gas production for the Group is over three million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Reported production in the second quarter is expected to be lower as a result of planned seasonal turnaround activity concentrated on higher-margin assets in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea, together with the ongoing impact of divestments.

BP's downstream business benefited from a strong contribution from supply and trading operations in the quarter. Good operational performance in the fuels business, with refinery availability over 95%, enabled the benefits of the favourable refining environment to be captured, particularly in the US Mid-West. This was partially offset by the continued planned outage of the largest crude unit at the Whiting refinery as part of the refinery's modernisation project. The full project is expected to come on stream as planned in the second half of this year.

Lubricants continued to deliver strong performance with pre-tax profit slightly ahead of both the prior quarter and the same period a year ago, but petrochemicals margins and volumes remained weak.

BP remains on track for the start-up of four new upstream projects in 2013 and expects to take five final investment decisions during the year. BP expects to drill between 15 and 25 exploration wells by the end of the year, eight of which are currently in progress, including wells in Egypt, India, Jordan, Gulf of Mexico, and Indonesia.

In addition to the sale of BP's interest in TNK-BP, the divestment of the Texas City refinery and related assets was completed in the first quarter.

In Russia, BP and Rosneft are now engaged jointly in a number of workstreams considering key aspects of the integration of TNK-BP and Rosneft. BP is also discussing with Rosneft possible opportunities to work together, contributing BP's expertise and experience either as a shareholder or in projects on a stand-alone basis, both in Russia and potentially internationally.

In the US, the first phase of the MDL2179 civil trial arising from the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident ended on 17 April. While the final decision rests with the Court, BP believes the evidence and testimony presented at trial confirms that it was not grossly negligent and that the accident was the result of multiple causes, involving multiple parties. A second phase of the trial, addressing source control issues and the quantity of oil released, is scheduled to start in September. Further information on additional legal proceedings is included in the first quarter results stock exchange announcement dated 30 April 2013.

The total cumulative charge, net of recoveries, for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill at the end of the quarter remained at $42.2 billion. The total amounts that will ultimately be paid by BP in relation to all the obligations relating to the incident are subject to significant uncertainty and the ultimate exposure and cost to BP will be dependent on many factors, as outlined in the BP Annual Report and Form 20-F 2012.

In summary, Bob Dudley said: "These results represent a strong start to 2013 across all of our businesses."

Oriel Securities Hold 473.33 - - Retains

Investec Hold 473.33 425.00 - Retains

HB Markets Buy 471.40 - - Retains

Deutsche Bank Buy 471.40 520.00 520.00 Reiterates

Jefferies International Hold 471.40 450.00 450.00 Reiterates

Oriel Securities Hold 471.40 - - Retains

BP to ask for Cameron's help as oil spill costs escalate

BP wants Prime Minister David Cameron to intervene over the escalating cost of compensating US companies for the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster in 2010.

BBC business editor Robert Peston has learned that BP feels its financial recovery is in jeopardy because the compensation system is being abused.

The financial burden of paying fictitious and inflated claims may even make BP a takeover target, it fears.

skin with yesterdays news that BP and Shell amongst others are under investigation for price fixing what chance has Cameron got of persuading the US authorities of taking the "heat" off BP, as usual Peston is climbing up the wrong tree.

Official expects surge in BP spill claims

NEW ORLEANS | Fri May 17, 2013 2:05am BST
(Reuters) - The deadline for claims against BP Plc in connection with the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill is 11 months away, but the man responsible for paying the claims said on Thursday he is already bracing for a late surge in filings.

Patrick Juneau, a Lafayette, Louisiana attorney experienced in complex litigation, was named by U.S. Judge Carl Barbier last year to oversee BP's settlement with the many individuals and firms who say they were harmed by the spill and its aftermath.

Exclusive: U.S. approval of BP refinery sale to Tesoro seen imminent

HOUSTON/WASHINGTON | Fri May 17, 2013 12:24am BST
(Reuters) - Independent western U.S. refiner Tesoro Corp (TSO.N) may take ownership of BP Plc's (BP.L) 240,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Carson, California, as early as June 1, sources familiar with the transaction said on Thursday.

Other sources told Reuters that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which assessed the deal to ensure that it complied with antitrust law, is prepared to approve the purchase within days.

That approval could come as early as Friday, said one source with knowledge of discussions between the company and the agency. It was not known if the FTC will place conditions on the deal's approval.

BP p.l.c - Transaction in Own Shares

BP p.l.c. - 13 June 2013

BP p.l.c. announces that it has purchased for cancellation the following number of ordinary shares of US$0.25 cents each:

Date of purchase 12 June 2013
Number of ordinary shares purchased 4,510,000
Highest price paid per share (pence) 462.43
Lowest price paid per share (pence) 453.70
Highest price paid per share (cents) 715.17
Lowest price paid per share (cents) 711.58

This announcement is made in accordance with the requirements of Listing Rule 12.4.6.

RBC Capital Markets Sector Performer 466.33 464.80 530.00 530.00 Reiterates

skin BP'S court case doesn't seem to be going too well?

Have a listen here.

BP seeks to halt spill claim payments during probe

NEW YORK | Wed Jul 17, 2013 3:10am BST
(Reuters) - BP Plc asked a U.S. judge on Tuesday to temporarily halt payments from a court-supervised settlement fund for certain claims for damages related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill while former FBI director Louis Freeh investigates possible misconduct.

BP said in an emergency request filed in federal court in New Orleans that a "brief pause" is necessary to ensure the claims process is not compromised while Freeh completes his investigation.

Halliburton pleads guilty to destroying Gulf spill evidence

Fri Jul 26, 2013 1:41am BST
(Reuters) - Halliburton Co has agreed to plead guilty to destroying evidence related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday.

The government said Halliburton's guilty plea is the third by a company over the spill and requires the world's second-largest oilfield services company to pay a maximum $200,000 (£130,030.56) statutory fine.

Halliburton also agreed to three years of probation and to continue cooperating with the criminal probe into the April 20, 2010, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.

2nd Quarter Results

The reported post-tax result of $2.7 billion for the quarter was adversely affected by:

· lower oil prices;
· an unusually high underlying effective tax rate of 45%, compared to 35% a year earlier, largely due to the impact of the stronger dollar on a basket of currencies; and
· lower post-tax income from Russia, driven by rouble depreciation and the lagging effect of Russian oil export duty, which has a disproportionate effect in periods of falling prices.