BP sees Q4 upstream production lower compared to prior quarter

In a regulatory filing, BP (BP) said, “Murray Auchincloss has recently undergone a planned medical procedure from which he is recovering well. He will be back in the office by February. To ensure his full recuperation the capital markets event previously scheduled for 11 February in New York will now take place on 26 February in London. Updated 4Q24 guidance: Upstream production in the fourth quarter is expected to be lower compared to the prior quarter, with production lower in oil production & operations and in gas & low carbon energy. In the gas & low carbon energy segment, realizations, compared to the prior quarter, are expected to have a favourable impact in the range of $0.1B – 0.2B including changes in non-Henry Hub natural gas marker prices. The gas marketing and trading result is expected to be average. In the oil production & operations segment, realizations, compared to the prior quarter, are expected to have an unfavourable impact in the range of $0.2B – 0.4B, including the impact of price lags on bp’s production in the Gulf of Mexico and the UAE. Compared to the prior quarter, exploration write-offs are expected to be $0.1B – 0.2B lower. In the customers & products segment, compared to the prior quarter, results are expected to be impacted by the following factors: customers – seasonally lower volumes, lower fuels margins, foreign exchange losses, and a one-off inventory purchase price adjustment relating to our bio-ethanol acquisition. products – weaker realized refining margins in the range of $0.1B – 0.3B and a higher impact from turnaround activity. The oil trading result is expected to be weak. Other items: Net debt at the end of the quarter is expected to be lower compared the prior quarter, including proceeds from divestments of around $2.8B, the issuance of around $2.5B perpetual hybrid bonds primarily in anticipation of refinancing perpetual hybrid bonds callable from June 2025 and/or March 2026, and acquired net debt of around $3B from the completion of the bp Bunge Bioenergia and Lightsource bp transactions. The fourth quarter results are expected to include non-cash, post-tax charges related to impairments of $1B- $2B attributable across the segments. These items are treated as adjusting items and excluded from underlying replacement cost profit. The underlying effective tax rate for the full year is now expected to be around 42% compared to the previous guidance of around 40% primarily due to changes in the geographical mix of profits. bp now expects other businesses & corporate underlying annual charge to be around $0.6 billion for 2024 compared to the previous range of $0.3B – 0.4B due to foreign exchange losses.”