LONDON — BP has posted a 45% slump in earnings, pointing to a poor set of results from the industry as oil production barely breaks even and profits from refining sputter.The UK company, the first oil major to report second-quarter results, said adjusted profit dropped to $720m from $1.3bn a year earlier, missing analyst estimates. Weak refining margins weighed on the result.BP’s earnings signal trouble for the world’s major energy producers, which relied on refining profits in 2015 to weather crude’s collapse. While CEO Bob Dudley continues to rein in spending, he faces a difficult road ahead as debts climb and oil’s rally fades amid slowing demand growth and returning production from Canada to Nigeria. The company’s top global competitors report later this week."There will be weakness in the second half of this year because of refineries," said Ahmed Ben Salem, an analyst at Oddo & Cie in Paris."Even though the companies have been successful in reducing costs, there are still some...
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