By Shadia Nasralla
LONDON (Reuters) -BP’s second-quarter results are expected to be impacted by lower prices received for gas and oil, while its upstream output is set to be higher than previously forecast, the company said in a trading update on Friday ahead of results due on August 5.
Crude oil prices fell in the quarter as OPEC+, made up of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, started to unwind self-imposed production cuts of 2.17 million barrels per day in April.
BP said crude oil prices averaged $67.88 a barrel in the second quarter, compared with $75.73 a barrel in the previous quarter.
“In the gas & low carbon energy segment, realisations (prices received), compared to the prior quarter, are expected to have an impact in the range of $(0.1) to (0.3) billion,” BP said.
“In the oil production & operations segment, realisations, compared to the prior quarter, are expected to have an impact in the range of $(0.6) to (0.8) billion.”
BP said its gas trading result is expected to be average, without giving further details.
BP guided for a rise in average refining margins in the quarter to $21.1 a barrel from $15.2 a barrel in the previous three months.
Its customers and products business is set to benefit from the higher refining margins to the tune of $300 million to $500 million compared to the previous quarter, despite higher maintenance activity at its plants.
It said oil trading was strong in the division.
BP expects its oil and gas output in the second quarter to be above the first quarter, when it produced around 2.24 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, citing its U.S. onshore business as a driver. It had previously guided for a flat trend.
Its net debt is expected to be slightly lower than the previous quarter’s $27 billion.
Rival Shell said earlier this week that it expects quarterly earnings to be hit by weaker trading in its integrated gas division and losses at chemicals and products operations.
(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla.Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Jane Merriman)
