Crude cargo lawsuit drags BP's oil trading division into the red
LONDON (Reuters) -- BP's oil trading business, one of the biggest in the sector, reported a rare loss in the fourth quarter after it lost a $70 million lawsuit over an oil cargo delivered to a Moroccan refinery.
BP's Chief Financial Officer Brian Gilvary said due to flat trading positions ahead of a crucial OPEC meeting at the end of November, and the lawsuit, the company's oil trading division made a "small loss" in the fourth quarter.
"There was a natural inclination to flatten up all of the books and there was also an adverse court ruling against us which is a $70 million hit," he told analysts on Tuesday.
The British energy company sold a cargo of Russian Urals crude to Moroccan refiner Samir in August 2014 which was not paid for and National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) took on 95% of that debt.
But London's High Court ruled in November that BP did not have the right to pass on the debt and ordered BP to pay $68.9 million plus interest to NBAD.
Gilvary said if BP had not been ordered to make the payment, its oil trading business would have made a profit in the period.
Across the year, BP's overall energy trading business was profitable, Gilvary said, adding that its gas trading desk had a "good result" in the fourth quarter.
Reporting by Karolin Schaps; editing by David Clarke
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