Oil producer BP said Tuesday that its third quarter replacement cost net profit rose 58% to $6.975 billion. At the same time, the producer cuts its 2006 oil and gas production target.
The rise in profits was mainly due to non-operating gains of $1.2 million compared with an operating charge of $921 million in the respective figure of 2005.
The world’s second largest oil company by market capitalization said that it was setting aside another $400 million to cover compensation claims related to the fatal blast at its Texas city refinery last year, pushing the total bill, including repairs and lost profits to around $2 billion.
BP slashed its full-year oil and gas production target, saying it would produce only 3.95 million barrels of oil equivalent (boepd) per day in 2006 compared to an original target of 4.1-4.2 million boepd.