BP says Q3 profits jump 58% on asset sales

Oil producer BP Plc’s (BP.L) third-quarter replacement cost net profit rose 58 percent to $6.975 billion thanks to asset sales but still undershot analysts’ forecasts as production and refining margins fell.

…The world’s second-largest fully-quoted oil company by market capitalization also ditched its 2006 oil and gas production target, saying it would produce only 3.95 million barrels of oil equivalent (boepd) per day this year compared to an original target of 4.1-4.2 million boepd.

Jason Kenney, oil analyst at ING, said this was expected.

This is partly due to asset sales but also reflects problems at Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, where pipeline corrosion led to cuts in output, and delays in bringing key projects, such as the Thunder Horse platform in the Gulf of Mexico, onstream.

Reuters