Oil giants count cost of hurricane season

The world’s biggest oil companies are gearing up to present their latest quarterly profits from this week, providing a first glimpse of their performance in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Key production sites in the Gulf of Mexico were battered by storms in late summer, forcing the shutdown of major US oil refineries whilst helping to drive up the cost of crude to record levels.
“These numbers are going to be very, very noisy,” says Matthew Lanstone, a senior oil analyst with Goldman Sachs.

BBC News looks at what could be in store for some of the world’s leading oil companies.

BBC