There is little evidence of any upturn in energy demand and the recovery in the world economy is likely to be “long and drawn-out”, the head of one of Europe's biggest oil companies has warned.
Tony Hayward, chief executive of BP, said that, while demand for oil and gas was stabilising, “we're not counting on a recovery any time soon”.
He was speaking as BP opened the reporting season for the big western oil companies by reporting second-quarter profits in 2009 down by more than half at $3.14bn. However, the company also reported a strong rise in oil and gas production and said its cost-cutting drive was progressing better than it had predicted.