LONDON, April 24: British oil giant BP on Tuesday reported a 17 per cent slide in first-quarter net earnings on lower crude prices and a fall in production.

BP said net profit in the January-March period fell 17 per cent from the same quarter of 2006 to $4.664 billion.

First quarter oil output declined 3.0 per cent to 3.912 million barrels per day from the first three months of 2006, the company said in a statement.

Production has now fallen for the last seven quarters.

First quarter results were also hurt by weakening oil prices, with the average price of a barrel of Brent North Sea crude coming to $57.76 in the first quarter against $61.79 in the same period a year earlier.

The company did not release a commentary on its prospects, which usually accompanies quarterly results.

“BP continues its dogged fight to recapture former glories,” said Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers in a note, while at Citigroup analysts described the results as “uninspiring” and said they could trigger weakness in BP’s share price in the short term.

“With no extensive outlook statement, the market is left to wonder about operational recovery,” Citigroup said.

BP has been struggling to regain investor confidence after a traumatic two years, highlighted by a fatal explosion at the Texas City refinery in the United States and the partial shutdown of its 400,000-barrel per day Prudhoe Bay field in Alaska following a leak in poorly maintained pipelines.—AFP