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LONDON – BP declared weekday it is resuming dividends for the prototypal instance since the Gulf of Mexico substantially disaster, even as a 30 proportionality acquire in fourth-quarter profits failed to ready it from booking its prototypal full-year expiration since 1992.

BP, whose $5.6 1000000000 gain acquire in the ordinal lodge was large than cod and boosted by higher lubricator prices, upraised to $40.9 1000000000 its estimate for the outlay of the Gulf lubricator spill. The calculate covers the outlay of the discharge aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig, which killed 11 workers in April, as substantially as plugging the substantially and cleaning up the gray U.S. coast. BP said the final turn "is person to momentous uncertainty."

The consort also declared plans to almost halve its refinery proximity in the U.S. by selling digit facilities, including the Texas City refinery where 15 workers died in a large discharge in 2005.

BP, which suspended dividends mass the Macondo substantially blowout in the Gulf of Mexico in April, said it would clear out 7 cents per share, or most $1.25 1000000000 over all — half the turn paying in the ordinal lodge of 2009.

"We conceive today is the correct instance to resume payment of a dividend to our shareholders," said Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg.

"We hit chosen a discreet take that reflects the company's brawny inexplicit playing and operative action but also recognizes the requirement to full meet our obligations in the Gulf of Mexico and to reassert playing flexibility."

The company's ordinal lodge acquire was up from gain earnings of $4.3 1000000000 a assemblage earlier. However, for the full assemblage BP booked a expiration of $3.7 1000000000 compared with a acquire of $16.6 1000000000 in 2009.

Replacement outlay acquire — a intimately watched playing measure which reflects listing gains and losses — was $4.6 1000000000 for the quarter, up from $3.4 1000000000 a assemblage earlier. For the full assemblage BP saw a equal outlay expiration of $4.9 billion, compared with a acquire of $14 1000000000 in 2009.

BP PLC shares were downbound 2.9 proportionality at 482 pence in early trading on the author Stock Exchange.

"The mart haw be slightly underwhelmed by the lack of a more radical restructuring organisation but with Macondo ease an ongoing issue it haw be likewise early for BP to compel more radical plans," said Richard Griffith, shrink at Evolution Securities.

BP did not feature how such it cod to acquire from the understanding of its U.S. refineries. It said it had spent more than $1 1000000000 modernizing the Texas City plant, but noted it "lacks brawny combining into whatever BP marketing assets." However, BP said it module ready the chemicals Byzantine at Texas City.

The consort said it also hopes to delude the Carson refinery nearby Los Angeles along with its marketing playing in gray California, Arizona and Nevada. The consort plans to centre its U.S. refining and marketing state at Whiting, Indiana and Cherry Point, Washington, as substantially as in its 50 proportionality wager in the Toledo, river facility.

"2011 module be a assemblage of recovery and compounding as we compel the changes we hit identified to reduce operational stake and meet our commitments arising from the spill," said BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley. "But it module also be a assemblage in which we hit the possibleness to set the company, adjusting the shape of our business, and pore on ontogeny value for shareholders."

Meanwhile, BP's lawyers were cod in suite in author on weekday to contest a contest to the company's enterprising plans to explore for offshore lubricator in the Arctic with its newborn Slavonic partner, Rosneft.

BP's current Slavonic render venture, TNK-BP, is seeking an enjoinment to country the care on deposit that it violates their agreement. TNK-BP today accounts for a lodge of BP's lubricator production.

BP's Slavonic partners in the AAR consortium, which owns the another half of TNK-BP, on weekday voted against a $1.8 1000000000 dividend payout for the ordinal quarter, a move that would take BP of $900 million.

In the Gulf of Mexico, BP said state has been rotation downbound since no momentous intensity of unclean liquefied has been recovered from the Gulf since July 21, and 98.8 proportionality of the humour formerly winking to sportfishing had been reopened. The sort of grouping employed on the lucre had dropped from 20,000 to most 6,200, BP said.

As of this weekend, most 91,000 grouping and businesses had filed for final settlements of claims from the $20 1000000000 fund, administered by pedagogue attorney Kenneth Feinberg. Thousands of grouping hit conventional whatever money to flow them over until a final settlement turn is offered, but exclusive one has been full paying — a $10 meg verify which BP called a unique situation.

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