There were also bright spots in the statement, which comes ahead of official second-quarter earnings on Aug. 5.

BP has said lower oil and gas prices will weigh on its earnings in the second quarter, even as the energy major flagged an increase in production and higher refining margins. In a trading update on Friday, BP said it expected earnings in its oil business to be $600mn-$800mn lower in the three months to the end of June than the previous quarter.

Oil prices steadied in early trading on Friday following a 2% drop in the previous session that was driven by U.S. President Donald Trump's new tariffs, expected to hurt economic growth, and a cut to OPEC demand forecasts.