With the price of crude oil plummeting, why some countries are faring much better than others.
LONDON — BP on Tuesday reported a net loss of $4.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2014 mainly because of write-offs of about $5.5 billion on the value of assets in the North Sea and Angola due to the effects of lower estimated reserves and lower oil prices.
The report from the company, based in London, was yet another demonstration of the damage that swooning crude prices are inflicting on profits in the industry. In the same quarter a year ago, BP reported a profit of $1 billion.
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BP won something of a legal victory last month when United States District Court Judge Carl Barbier ruled that the size of the spill was 3.19 million barrels, well below the 4.1 million barrels the government estimated. Had the government convinced Judge Barbier of its estimate, the company could have faced nearly $4 billion more in fines than it now faces.
BP could be fined $4,300 for each barrel spilled, though Judge Barbier has authority to set lower penalties. Under the Clean Water Act rules, the judge assigning penalties should look at the oil company’s ability to pay, steps it took to clean up the damages and its history of violations.
