MOSCOW, October 28 (RIA Novosti) – BP has released its Third Quarter 2014 Results, which reveal that profits shrunk to $1,290 mln compared to $3,369 mln in the second quarter and $3,504 mln during the same period last year.
The company says it is a consequence of the slump in word oil prices, as Brent Crude prices have dropped 25% over the past four months, amid increasing oil production in OPEC countries.
Goldman Sachs recently forecast that the price of Brent Crude, currently $85 per barrel, would fall to $75 initially before recovering slightly to $80 by the middle of next year.
The oil giant, which is a big investor in Russia via its 20% stake in Rosneft, said the depreciation of the ruble against the dollar has also dragged down profits.
On Friday, the Russian currency hit a new low against the US dollar (the currency used to price oil), reaching an all-time low of 42 rubles to the dollar.
Despite the fall in profits, the company remains upbeat about its performance, and hopes that its growing underlying production of oil and gas and good downstream [oil refining] performance, which generated strong cash flow in the third quarter, will keep them on track to hit their targets in 2014.
