London

BP plc is making good on its promises to improve performance and to pursue new opportunities, CEO Tony Hayward said Tuesday. The London-based major reported a better-than-expected 83% jump in quarterly net profit.

BP plc’s land grab in the Arkoma Basin’s Woodford Shale is the first of several North American natural gas prospects likely to be pursued, the London-based major’s exploration chief said Tuesday.

More than 17% of London-based BP plc’s shareholders Thursday voted down an executive remuneration package that would give CEO John Browne a generous compensation package when he retires in July.

Rising costs, property sales and lower volumes from production-sharing contracts contributed to a disappointing quarter for BP plc, and the London-based major said last week production also is not rising at the rate it forecast. Oil and natural gas output this year is expected to range between 3.8-3.9 MMboe/d, nearly flat compared with 2006 annual production of 3.93 MMboe.

BP plc’s share price slid 3% in early trading Tuesday after the London-based major missed its production targets and reported that its 4Q2006 oil and natural gas output fell for the sixth straight quarter on start-up delays in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and reduced oil flow from its Prudhoe Bay field in Alaska.

Rising commodity prices failed to lift London-based BP plc, which reported a 3.6% drop in quarterly earnings Tuesday. The oil major also warned daily oil and natural gas production will be slightly lower for the year.

FERC last Thursday approved the merger of KeySpan Corp. and London-based National Grid. Separately, the Commission approved NorthWestern Corp.’s merger with Babcock & Brown Infrastructure Ltd. (BBI), a company based in Sydney, Australia.

A BP plc spokesperson on Tuesday confirmed a report in The Wall Street Journal indicating federal investigators are investigating whether the London-based oil major manipulated crude oil and unleaded gasoline markets in 2002, 2003 and 2004. BP already is facing allegations by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that it manipulated the U.S. propane market in 2004 (see Daily GPI, June 29).

Another liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal is being proposed near Long Island, according to a report in New London, CT-based The Day. Plans for the Safe Harbor Energy LNG terminal are expected to be announced on Thursday by New York City-based Atlantic Sea Island Group LLC. The project would include terminal development on a man-made island off the south shore of Long Island in the Atlantic Ocean “far from population centers and outside vital shipping lanes.”