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Sign of the times: BP said it expects a drop in refining margins to take between £306 million and £459 million off its third-quarter profits.
A global slowdown in fuel demand has hit BP’s refining business.
The oil major said it expects a drop in refining margins to take between £306 million and £459 million off its third-quarter profits.
The company also warned that oil trading was “weak” in the three months to the end of September.
BP follows Shell in reporting a drop in margins after its refining businesses suffered a drop in global demand recently in the industrial and consumer sectors.
The economic slowdown in major economies, including China, along with growth in electric car sales, have contributed to the decline. Refiners have enjoyed windfall profits driven by supply shortages caused in part by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
BP and Shell’s U.S. rival Exxon Mobil also signaled last week that lower oil prices and refining margins in the most recent quarter will likely hit their profits for the period.
BP said its oil production and operations business would also be hit by lower prices, to the tune of between £76m and £229m. However, BP raised its upstream production forecasts for the third quarter.
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