![Oil giant BP reports tumbling profits in first half](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/d5/ab/25/Oil-giant-BP-reports-tumbling-profi-342239.jpg)
-
Nissanka leaves Sri Lanka in sight of third Test win over England
-
Kendrick Lamar to headline 2025 Super Bowl halftime show
-
Thousands defy roadblocks in rally for Pakistan ex-PM Khan
-
Roglic wins record-equalling fourth Vuelta
-
Russia advances in east Ukraine, launches deadly air strikes
-
Cowboys quarterback Prescott agrees record $240 mln extension
-
Swiss double in Paralympic wheelchair marathons, Dutch women retain basketball title
-
New 'Beetlejuice' creeps its way to top of N.America box office
-
South Africa captain Kolisi leaves Racing 92: French Top 14 club
-
Funeral for slain athlete Cheptegei in Uganda on Sept 14
-
Dolphins star Hill arrested on way to season-opener
-
Smith hits back after England collapse against Sri Lanka
-
Weather delays final regattas in Louis Vuitton Cup
-
Venezuela's Gonzalez Urrutia: from placeholder to opposition pointman
-
Marquez thanks rain for San Marino MotoGP win as leader Martin pays for gamble
-
Boeing, union reach preliminary deal to avert Seattle-area strike
-
Neuville wins Acropolis Rally to close in on world title
-
Venezuela's opposition figure fled to Spain to save 'his life'
-
Trump, Harris tied on eve of televised presidential debate
-
Paris Paralympics the greatest ever, say former Olympics executives
-
Pope exit revives Sri Lanka's hopes in third Test against England
-
Gunman kills 3 Israelis at West Bank crossing as Gaza war rages
-
Marquez wins San Marino MotoGP as leader Martin pays for rain gamble
-
Greece to hike fee for cruise passengers to Mykonos and Santorini
-
Carsley's 'refreshing' England overhaul launches new era
-
Swiss double in wheelchair marathons on final day of Paralympics
-
France's Le Pen urges Macron to hold referendum to break deadlock
-
Typhoon Yagi weakens, toll rises to 14 in Vietnam
-
India's Randhir Singh elected Asian Olympic chief
-
Under pressure, UN winds down 'unique' Iraq probe into IS crimes
-
'Proud' athletics great Weir calls time on marathon Paralympic career
-
'Brave' Afghanistan can beat anyone, says skipper ahead of NZ Test
-
Vaughan warns England against 'taking the mick' after Sri Lanka collapse
-
England's Moeen Ali retires from international cricket
-
Japan's Hirata holds off inspired Smyth to win on Asian Tour
-
China's Paralympic domination fails to ignite enthusiasm back home
-
Sporting a feathered headdress, Pope finds 'Eden' in Papua New Guinea
-
Super Typhoon Yagi toll rises to 9 in Vietnam after landslide
-
Indonesian villagers dress corpses in ritual for the dead
-
Williamson expects 'phenomenal' Root to keep breaking records
-
The end of Olympic escapism for gloomy France
-
Amy Adams gets real about motherhood in 'Nightbitch'
-
Venezuela says presidential opposition candidate has left country
-
Women ride Pakistan's economic crisis into the workplace
-
Wallabies 'fell of cliff' in loss to Pumas, says coach Schmidt
-
Child abuse scandals hang over pope's East Timor visit
-
Biden team, end in sight, keeps hope on Gaza truce despite setbacks
-
Sabalenka dedicates US Open to family 'who never gave up' on dream
-
Venezuela takes diplomatic jab at Brazil in spat over election
-
Multiple people shot along highway in US state of Kentucky
![Oil giant BP reports tumbling profits in first half](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/d5/ab/25/Oil-giant-BP-reports-tumbling-profi-342239.jpg)
Oil giant BP reports tumbling profits in first half
BP on Tuesday announced tumbling profits for the first half, with the British oil and gas giant hit by depreciation of assets and falling revenue.
Profit after tax slumped 79 percent to $2.13 billion compared with net earnings of $10 billion in the first six months of last year, BP said in a statement.
Revenue dropped eight percent to $98 billion in the latest reporting period.
BP said increased volume and lower exploration write-offs were "partly offset by increased depreciation charges and higher costs".
The group earlier this month flagged to markets that its latest earnings would take a sizeable hit from a cut to oil refining in Germany.
Energy majors are also feeling the impact of declining gas prices, which have fallen heavily since soaring after the invasion of Ukraine by major energy producer Russia in early 2022.
Against this backdrop, BP "businesses continue to operate safely and efficiently", chief executive Murray Auchincloss said in the earnings statement.
Auchincloss, a veteran BP employee, became CEO in January following a period as interim boss in the wake of Bernard Looney's sacking.
Looney was dismissed over his failure to disclose past relationships with colleagues.
Despite the plunge in profits, BP's share price gained two percent on dividend and share buyback announcements as well as thanks to better-than-expected underlying profits in the second quarter, analysts said.
"After the energy crisis in 2022 fuelled by Russia's invasion of Ukraine which sent oil giants' profits soaring, BP and its rivals have been getting used to a more normal period for energy earnings," noted Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor.
- Oil project -
Also Tuesday, BP gave the green light to the Kaskida oil project in the US Gulf of Mexico, with production set to begin in 2029.
Auchincloss "has been cutting back on BP's green energy plans, shifting the focus back towards oil and gas", added Scholar.
"Biofuel and wind projects have been either scaled back or paused."
BP said Kaskida was the group's sixth hub in the Gulf of Mexico, featuring a new floating production platform with the capacity to initially produce 80,000 barrels of crude daily.
Environmentalists hit out over BP's latest announcements.
"Big oil companies like BP know their fossil fuel products are behind more deadly heatwaves, storms, and wildfires around the world, but instead of investing in clean energy, they are continuing to profit from people's misery," said Alice Harrison, head of fossil fuel campaigns at Global Witness.
"While millions of us struggle with high temperatures and high bills, BP are raking in billions of profits, paying out massive dividends, and doubling down on dirty new oil and gas projects," she added in a statement.
N.Esteves--PC