By Sarah Kent and Michael Amon
BP PLC sees a "potential opportunity" for buying assets this
year as smaller energy companies suffer under the weight of oil
prices that have collapsed in the past nine months, the company's
chief financial officer said Tuesday.
"I think we'll see where the oil price settles this year but I
do believe we will begin to see some potential financial stress in
the market in terms of potential opportunity for us," said BP CFO
Brian Gilvary, in a call with analysts after the company announced
its first-quarter 2015 financial results.
Mr. Gilvary's comments come as oil industry observers anticipate
a wave of energy deals after BP's Anglo-Dutch rival Royal Dutch
Shell PLC bought BG Group PLC for $70 billion.
But Mr. Gilvary said BP isn't "looking at corporate
acquisitions."
"It's more in deepening the assets that we have," he said.
BP reported sharply lower profits for the first quarter on
Tuesday, about $2.1 billion, down from $3.8 billion a year earlier,
as oil prices hit their lowest level in six years. The results
could have been worse but a U.K. tax cut and better-than-expected
results from the company's trading arm helped soften the blow.
Mr. Gilvary said BP's trading arm's earnings were $300 million
to $400 million stronger than usual in the first quarter of 2015.
Volatile oil prices generally benefit traders who often make money
by exploiting price differentials. BP generally doesn't disclose
much information about its trading unit.
Write to Sarah Kent and Michael Amon at Sarah.Kent@wsj.com and
Michael.Amon@wsj.com
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