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BP lowers growth target again
LONDON, England -- British oil giant BP has cut its oil and gas output forecast for the third time this year as tropical storms and other technical problems cut into already weaker production levels. BP, Europe's biggest company by market capitalisation and the world's second-largest oil company, on Tuesday lowered its growth projection for 2002 to 3 percent from its last projection of between 4.5 and 5.0 percent growth. Its stock dived 6.9 percent, or 29 pence, to 397 pence after the company issued its latest bulletin and third-quarter earnings. Third-quarter profit declined 13 percent to $2.29 billion from $2.65 billion a year earlier. "Our trading environment has shown little improvement,'' BP Chief Executive Officer John Browne said. "Performance improvements have been impacted by weaker-than-expected production.'' BP has said tropical storm Isidore and Hurricane Lili battered the company's offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico -- cutting 1.4 million barrels a day of U.S. oil production in September -- while technical problems mainly in the North Sea and Alaska also hampered production. But BP, which makes 80 percent of its profit from oil and gas production, has seen its profits come under pressure this year amid the worst refining slump in a decade as a global economic malaise stifles growth. In the past year, it has been hit along with other major oil and gas companies -- such as rivals Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch/Shell Group -- by falling prices as U.S. demand weakens.
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