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Shell reports sharp drop in profits after troubled 2007

Business Materials 5 February 2008 12:21 (UTC +04:00)

( dpa ) - Oil giant British Petroleum (BP) saw profits drop by a fifth to 8.76 billion pounds (17.29 billion dollars) in 2007, the company reported Tuesday.

The figures came at the end of a troubled year for BP which has seen output at its US refineries reduced and the profits made from refining squeezed - despite the rise in oil prices.

Last week, rival Royal Dutch Shell reported bumper profits of 13.9 billion pounds for 2007.

Shell, meanwhile, received a fine of 25 million pounds for an explosion at its Texas City refinery in 2005 in which 15 people died.

Last May, the company's chief executive, Lord Browne, resigned after lying to a court in an attempt to block stories about his private life.

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