Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 27
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
BP is ready to enter a new era of growth after resolving most of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill costs even as it adapts to a long period of low oil prices, BP Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said Oct.27, Reuters agency reported.
"We are ready now to enter a new era," Dudley said.
BP agreed this month to pay more than $20 billion in fines to five Gulf states, including Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas to resolve nearly all claims from its deadly Gulf of Mexico oil spill, bringing its total bill to nearly $55 billion. Dudley said BP could incur further costs.
"Of course, with the new oil price, the number one priority is to retool the company and rebase the cost structure for the industry and BP," he said.
Oil prices have more than halved since June 2014 to around $50 a barrel and oil companies have slashed spending as they brace for an extended period of depressed oil prices.
Dudley said that following nearly $55 billion of asset sales in the five years following the deadly Gulf of Mexico spill, BP can grow the company, grow dividend and progressively increase cash flow.
And while BP might invest in new assets to expand existing production, Dudley ruled out big acquisitions.
On Oct.27, BP announced a third cut this year to its 2015 spending budget to $19 billion as well as further asset sales and restructuring costs.
Dudley said BP can now focus on growing production which is expected to increase by 800,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (bpd) by 2020 from projects in Azerbaijan, Egypt, Oman, the North Sea and the US Gulf of Mexico.
BP in Azerbaijan is the operator of the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli offshore oil and gas field and Shah Deniz gas condensate field, and it is planned to supply gas to Europe within the second stage of its development.
The company also participates in such pipeline projects as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and South Caucasus gas pipeline.
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