BP cuts production goals

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil giant BP Plc (BP.L) slashed its growth targets and raised spending plans on Tuesday, hitting its shares, as it reported better than expected, but falling, fourth quarter profits.

The world’s third-largest fully publicly traded oil company by market value said production would fall in 2007 and only grow slightly to the end of the decade, compared to earlier plans to grow at 4 percent per annum.

BP added that achieving these scaled back goals would require the company to invest more than the levels expected to deliver the higher targets.

BP shares traded down 1.66 percent at 532.5 pence at 0929 GMT, compared to a 0.6 percent drop in the DJ Stoxx European oil and gas sector index.

Reuters