London – Soaring oil and gasoline prices propelled BP PLC to a $7.3 billion second- quarter profit, a 30 percent increase from last year despite reduced output and rising costs.
BP’s record performance exceeded the expectations of Wall Street analysts, who anticipate second-quarter profits from the world’s six largest publicly traded oil companies to surpass $36 billion.
BP is Colorado’s largest natural-gas producer, with 2005 production of 241 billion cubic feet. That contributed an estimated $1.8 billion to BP’s annual revenue. Most of its Colorado natural gas comes from the prolific San Juan Basin southeast of Durango.
BP and its predecessor, Amoco, formerly were major gas retailers in Colorado. Last year, BP sold 50 of its Colorado stations and required 50 more independent dealers to rebrand.
The next major integrated oil company to release quarterly results is ConocoPhillips, today.
Chief executive John Browne, who announced Tuesday he would step down at the end of 2008, said higher tax rates cut into BP’s profitability.
BP has recently been plagued by operational problems – from hurricane damage to a refinery explosion – and it vowed to spend an additional $1 billion over the next four years to upgrade safety.
Yet BP’s revenue surged 24 percent to $73.5 billion as its global sale price for crude oil averaged $65.96 a barrel, compared with $47.79 a year earlier.
Denver Post staff writer Steve Raabe contributed to this report.
