Failed Angolan exploration hits BP profit but results beat expectations
London — BP’s second-quarter profit dipped but beat forecasts after an exploration write-off in Angola, while oil and gas production rose sharply with the start-up of new projects. The British company also increased cash flow from operations in a further sign that efforts by top oil companies to cut costs over the past three years in response to low oil prices are paying off. "We continue to position BP for the new oil price environment, with a continued tight focus on costs, efficiency and discipline in capital spending," CEO Bob Dudley said in a statement. Despite the sharp slowdown in the sector’s activity since the slump in oil prices in 2014, BP is set to launch seven oil and gas projects in 2017 — the largest number in a single year in its history. BP’s production was up 9.9% from a year earlier to 2.431-million barrels of oil equivalent a day, helped by some of these new start-ups. BP said its oil and gas production would be broadly flat in the third quarter as further projec...
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