BP oil and gas production falls 2.5% in Q2

LONDON (Reuters) – BP Plc (BP.L) expects its oil and gas production to have fallen 2.5 percent in the second quarter — more than some analysts had expected — raising the challenge the oil giant faces in meeting growth plans.

London-based BP said in a statement on Monday that output was likely to fall to around 4.01 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd).

However, analysts said they expect strong oil prices and refining margins during the quarter to ensure earnings beat the same period of 2005.

“The group would appear to have had a very good quarter, and we shall be increasing our forecasts from the current expectation of replacement cost net income of $5.5 billion by circa 10 percent,” Kepler Teather & Greenwood Merrion said in a research note.

Reuters