BP reports production up 5 percent in second quarter

Petroleum News Alaska Staff

In a second quarter trading update released July 2, BP said it estimates volumes of oil and gas production for the quarter will be more than 3.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, up some 5 percent from the second quarter 2001.

Liquids prices were up by some $4 a barrel and North American gas prices by some 60 cents per thousand standard cubic feet compared to the first quarter.

BP said the second quarter production increase, to more than 3.5 million boe/d reflects continued build up from projects commissioned last year and from the King field in the Gulf of Mexico, which came on stream during the quarter. The company said that output from these new projects more than offset the impact of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries related quota restrictions, which restricted production by some 20,000 barrels a day compared to second quarter 2001.

BP said total production for the second quarter is also expected to be around 1 percent higher than first quarter, overcoming normal seasonal decline factors. First quarter output was depressed by 100,000 barrels a day due to unusually mild weather, OPEC quota restrictions and asset disposals.

Full year production remains on tract to grow at the company’s target annual rate of 5.5 percent with new projects including King’s Peak, Horn Mountain and Princess in the Gulf of Mexico and Trinidad train two due on stream during the second half of the year.