OIL AND GAS

BP Reports $1.4 Billion Loss

An unexpectedly big dip, despite recently poor performance.

BP investors will not be heartened by the unexpectedly severe loss Europe’s second-largest oil company experienced over the three-month period that ended June 30, as the company had already been lacking performance-wise lately. BP reported a loss of $1.4 billion, which it chalked up to a delayed Alaska project, the United States’ taking advantage of its shale gas assets, and $4.8 billion in write-downs on some of their refineries. “This is a very, very disappointing set of results; they missed across all fronts by a wide margin,” said one London oil analyst. BP’s CEO, Bob Dudley, is struggling to perform under the weight of problems he inherited from predecessor Tony Hayward after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.