BP Moves on to the Next Crisis
Oil giant has put Macondo behind it, but it can't match Shell's prospects
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If this is as good as it gets for BP in 2016, investors have cause to feel a touch underwhelmed. There weren't any big nasties in Tuesday's second-quarter earnings update -- adjusted replacement cost profit fell short of expectations but not shockingly so.
Still, it isn't possible yet to have full confidence in CEO Bob Dudley's plan to put the funding of the dividend on a sustainable footing and thereby prevent a further erosion of BP's balance sheet. That's unfortunate because while a recovery in the oil price has lifted BP shares, the stock lags behind rival Royal Dutch Shell. BP needs a catalyst but the second quarter didn't provide one.