LONDON — Oil giant BP reported a 96-percent drop in third-quarter profit Tuesday and announced further efforts to curtail spending as it prepares for a prolonged period of low oil prices.
The London-based company said net income fell to $46 million from $1.29 billion in the third quarter of 2014. So-called underlying replacement cost profit, BP’s preferred measure of performance, fell 40 percent to $1.82 billion.
BP also said it plans to cut costs by $6 billion through 2017 — $3 billion more than already achieved — forecasting oil prices at around $60 a barrel by that time. Brent crude, the benchmark for North Sea oil, averaged $50.26 a barrel in the third quarter, down 51 percent from a year earlier.
The company also expects to sell as much as $5 billion of assets next year.
