BP Report a First Quarter Profit of $4.2 Billion, 30% more than Forecast

By James Burgess

On Tuesday BP reported first quarter profits for 2013 of $4.2 billion, 30 percent more than analysts had forecast.

Peter Hutton, and analyst at RBC Capital Markets, explained that successful start-ups in Angola and Norway, better than expected performance in Trinidad, and a reduction in predicted costs, enabled BP to record such a good start to the year.

Despite the good profits, production in the US did fall another 18 percent compared to 2012, but then since the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico BP is a lot smaller company, having reigned back a lot of its operations in the US.

As part of Robert W. Dudley’s, BP’s chief executive officer, strategy to create a more focussed and profitable company BP has sold nearly $65 billion in assets since 2010.

Mr. Dudley stated that “these strong first-quarter results demonstrate the progress BP is making.”

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