BP is scheduled to release its first quarter 2009 results tomorrow. We look for the oil & gas group's first quarter numbers to show the brunt of low oil and gas prices on the upstream sector and look for lower earnings over year-ago levels. Given the challenges this year of a weakened global economy driving down oil prices and refined product demand, we'll be focused on seeing how BP will execute on plans set forth during its March 2009 business strategy meeting.
Of particular interest will be news of BP's progress with upstream projects and the extent of potential cost savings from lower oilfield service costs. We're also interested in more details of recent discoveries in offshore Angola and the status of production ramp-up plans at BP's Thunder Horse field that started up in December 2008.
On the downstream side, the return of BP's Texas City refinery to full production plus lower oil feedstock costs may bolster US refining margins. We'd like to see how potential gains in US downstream margins will compare to news of some quarter-to-quarter erosion in refining margin indicators in Europe between the 2009 first quarter and 2008 fourth quarter.
We'll also look for comments on BP's alternative energy plans, especially after recent news of wind and solar projects.
Catharina Milostan is a stock analyst with Morningstar.com.