BP posts loss, pinched by penalty and lower oil and gas prices

LONDON (AP) — Oil company BP reported Tuesday a loss of $1.4 billion pounds for the second quarter due to lower prices and production and as it wrote down the value of some assets, including shale gas in the U.S.

BP PLC said its net loss compared with a net profit of $5.7 billion a year earlier. Revenue was down 9 percent at $95 billion. The company also made an additional provision of $847 million for the Gulf of Mexico oil rig disaster and cleanup, taking the total provision to just over $38 billion.