BP earnings Down higher oil prices despite

LONDON - BP said Wednesday that its earnings fell in the first quarter of the previous year after selling assets to pay for the impact of the oil spill in the Gulf of the Mexico.

Gains were 5.48 billion over the first three months of this year, down from 5.6 billion in the same period last year. British oil giant set aside $ 384 million for the response to the oil spill in the first quarter.

BP has sold more than 24 billion dollars of assets to raise funds to cover the costs of oil spill. Accordingly, and including losses of production of the accident in the Gulf, production fell by 11% in the first quarter, compared to 2010.

Like its rivals, BP was assisted by the high price of oil last year, which, according to some analysts could more easily sell assets to strike agreements of cooperation in India and Russia. But an agreement with Rosneft the Russia exploration was put on hold earlier this year after legal campaign current Russian partners of BP, and there are signs a jump in the price of oil by more than 30 per cent last year could begin to reverse.

Oil companies may find it difficult to repeat their growth high profit of last year, as oil prices began to fall because of the signs that the slowdown in demand. The prices for motorists is wrong request as many consumers decided to drive less then that begins the period of vacation was occupied.

BP is the first largest stock oil companies to report first-quarter figures. Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil are defined to give their gains Thursday update.

In total, BP has set aside $ 41 billion to cover costs related to the oil spill in the Gulf of the Mexico one of the most ever. BP continues to try to obtain regulatory approval to resume drilling in the Gulf of the Mexico.

BP said it expects that the sale of the refineries and pipelines to the United States to be completed during the next two months. The fields in the company already sold in Pakistan, the Viet Nam and Argentina and plans to bring the total product of assignments to $ 30 billion.

BP shares were little changed in trade early on Wednesday in London.

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