Group results Third quarter and nine months 2017
Year-to-date organic balance at $49 a barrel
Share buybacks announced to offset scrip dilution
Reported third quarter group oil and gas production up 14%
· Underlying replacement cost (RC) profit* for the third quarter was $1.9 billion, compared with $684 million in previous quarter.
· Third-quarter operating cash flow, excluding Gulf of Mexico oil spill payments*, was $6.6 billion. Including these payments, operating cash flow* for the quarter was $6.0 billion.
· Underlying operating cash flow* in first nine months exceeded organic capital expenditure* plus full dividend* - equivalent to organic cash balance including full dividend at Brent oil price of $49 a barrel, or $42 a barrel including cash dividend only(a).
· Dividend unchanged at 10 cents per share.
· Recommencing share buyback programme in fourth quarter to offset ongoing dilutive effect of scrip dividends over time.
· Reported group oil and gas production in the third quarter averaged 3.6 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, 14% higher than in the third quarter of 2016.
· Three Upstream major projects* began production in the quarter.
· Downstream underlying quarterly earnings were the highest for five years, second-highest on a RC basis.
· Around $4.5 billion in disposal proceeds are expected for full year 2017, with $1.0 billion received in first nine months. Proceeds expected in the fourth quarter include those from the SECCO transaction ($1.4 billion) and the initial public offering of BP Midstream Partners LP's common units ($0.7 billion).
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