BP eyes resumption of Gulf drilling this year

BP . . . expects to resume drilling in the Gulf of Mexico in the second half, more than a year after the Macondo well blowout that caused the worst U.S. spill, Chief Financial Officer Byron Grote said. 

BP has applied for permits with the U.S. authorities, Grote told analysts today on a conference call. Production from the Gulf of Mexico in the first quarter was down by about 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day from a year earlier, a loss that was partly offset by higher oil prices, he said.

The return to Gulf drilling will bolster BP after a drop in output led to lower profit in the first three months of the year. While Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Chevron Corp. restarted some operations last month, BP has yet to receive permission to resume since President Barack Obama lifted the moratorium on deepwater drilling in the region that provides BP with some of its highest margins.