BP’s profit tumbles, debt climbs as coronavirus crisis hammers oil demand
LONDON: BP’s first quarter profits tumbled by two-thirds as the coronavirus crisis hammered oil demand and the energy major’s debt rose sharply as it warned of exceptional uncertainty ahead.
London-based BP said it expected significantly lower refining margins in the second quarter when global restrictions on movement to halt the spread of the virus reached their peak, throttling consumption of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
“It is difficult to predict when current supply and demand imbalances will be resolved and what the ultimate impact of COVID-19 will be,” BP said in a statement.
