BP Sees "Potential Opportunity" for Buying Assets This Year

By Sarah Kent and Michael Amon

BP PLC sees a "potential opportunity" for buying assets this year as smaller energy companies suffer under the weight of oil prices that have collapsed in the past nine months, the company's chief financial officer said Tuesday.

"I think we'll see where the oil price settles this year but I do believe we will begin to see some potential financial stress in the market in terms of potential opportunity for us," said BP CFO Brian Gilvary, in a call with analysts after the company announced its first-quarter 2015 financial results.

Mr. Gilvary's comments come as oil industry observers anticipate a wave of energy deals after BP's Anglo-Dutch rival Royal Dutch Shell PLC bought BG Group PLC for $70 billion.

But Mr. Gilvary said BP isn't "looking at corporate acquisitions."

"It's more in deepening the assets that we have," he said.

BP reported sharply lower profits for the first quarter on Tuesday, about $2.1 billion, down from $3.8 billion a year earlier, as oil prices hit their lowest level in six years. The results could have been worse but a U.K. tax cut and better-than-expected results from the company's trading arm helped soften the blow.

Mr. Gilvary said BP's trading arm's earnings were $300 million to $400 million stronger than usual in the first quarter of 2015. Volatile oil prices generally benefit traders who often make money by exploiting price differentials. BP generally doesn't disclose much information about its trading unit.

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