BP Tuesday reported a 53 per cent drop in second-quarter profits due to lower fuel prices as the global economic crisis dampens demand for oil. But the British energy company's US$4.39 billion (Dh16.12bn) net income for the quarter, which compares with $9.47bn a year earlier, was a big improvement on its $2.6bn first-quarter figure and beat analysts' expectations.
The second-biggest oil firm in Europe also reported second-quarter cash flow improved marginally to $6.8bn from $6.7bn a year ago. This was because BP pumped more oil and gas, even as revenue fell 49 per cent to $56.56bn from $110.98bn.
"BP has now thrown down the gauntlet to the rest of the oil supermajors, who will report their numbers over the next few days," Richard Hunter, the head of UK equities at the stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown, told Reuters.
BP's main European and US competitors, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, ExxonMobil and Chevron, are all due to report their second-quarter results later this week.
"BP may not be able to control the price of oil, but their measures to streamline the business and reduce costs show the board is in tune with the ebbs and flows of the market," said Manoj Ladwa, a senior trader at ETX Capital in London.
But the company's shares were flat at $51.34 in early trading on major exchanges Tuesday.
Peter Hitchens, an analyst with the London stockbroker Panmure Gordon, said BP was starting to deliver long-promised production increases, but the operating environment for oil and gas companies would continue to depress its shares.
Tony Hayward, the BP chief executive, said Tuesday: "We see little evidence of any growth in demand and expect the recovery to be long and drawn out."
New York oil prices slipped below $68 per barrel yesterday, amid mixed economic and corporate news.
Crude is well off the high of $147 per barrel it reached last summer.
BP said its second-quarter oil and gas production rose 4 per cent, as it brought new fields in the Gulf of Mexico on stream. The company predicted its output would continue to climb during the rest of this year, producing its first substantial output increase since 2004.
This year, BP became the largest oil and gas producer in the Gulf of Mexico, after boosting output from the Thunder Horse platform and bringing the Dorado and King South fields on stream. The deepwater projects have helped US oil production climb for the first time since the 1970s. Projects likely to help raise BP's future output include a joint venture with China National Petroleum Corporation and Iraq's state-owned South Oil Company to nearly triple production from the biggest Iraqi oilfield. The alliance was the only consortium to win a deal last month in Iraq's first post-war oil and gas licensing round. Mr Hayward said he expected the agreement would be finalised by the end of this year.
Almost two years into its continuing efficiency drive, BP expected to beat an earlier target for cutting costs, he said, but he insisted lower spending would not impair the safety of BP's operations, as an earlier round of cost cuts may have done.
About a decade ago, when crude fell below $10 per barrel, Mr Hayward's predecessor, John Browne, introduced cost reductions that regulators, politicians and industry figures later blamed for safety and environmental problems. Those included a Texas refinery explosion in 2005 and oil spills from poorly maintained pipelines in Alaska.
tcarlisle@thenational.ae
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers Henderson, Pickford, Pope.
Defenders Alexander-Arnold, Chilwell, Coady, Dier, Gomez, Keane, Maguire, Maitland-Niles, Mings, Saka, Trippier, Walker.
Midfielders Henderson, Mount, Phillips, Rice, Ward-Prowse, Winks.
Forwards Abraham, Barnes, Calvert-Lewin, Grealish, Ings, Kane, Rashford, Sancho, Sterling.
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
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