BP Plc said an oil price slump won’t reverse any time soon, at least the fifth time this year Europe’s third- largest oil company predicted no rebound is close.

“As you know, we have held a view for some time that oil prices will be lower for longer,” Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said on a conference call with analysts on Tuesday. The company, which reported a lower-than-estimated second quarter profit, is seeking a “strategic shift” to produce more gas, he said.

Dudley and his colleagues had predicted at least four times this year that prices won’t recover any time soon. BP’s focus is on divestment, operating performance, dividend payments and being disciplined about spending, he said on the call. The price slump is being caused by U.S. output that’s near the highest in three decades and record output from OPEC’s biggest members.

Brent crude, a benchmark for oil from both West Africa and the Middle East, has dropped about 50 percent in the past year and slid back into a bear market on Monday.

BP’s gas unit will account for 55 percent to 60 percent of its production by the end of the decade compared with about 50 percent now, Dudley said. “Strategic shift? Yes. It’s a natural one with our portfolio of operations.”

The company seeks to focus on completing its $10 billion divestment program to strengthen the balance sheet, Dudley said. It has so far sold assets worth $7.4 billion, he said.

The company’s second-quarter net result, which included a previously reported charge for liabilities related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, was a $6.3 billion loss.

Source: www.bloomberg.com

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