BP beats quarterly earnings estimates, trims spending

BP reported a near halving in third-quarter earnings on Tuesday and trimmed 2016 spending by another USD 1 billion as weak prices cut into profits yet the British oil major still beat analysts' estimates.

BP's underlying replacement cost profit, the company's definition of net income, fell to USD 933 million, compared with USD 780 million expected by analysts and down from USD 1.8 billion a year earlier.

"We remain on track to rebalance organic cash flows next year at USD 50 to USD 55 a barrel," Chief Financial Officer Brian Gilvary said in a statement.

BP said this year's capital expenditure would fall to around USD 16 billion and to USD 15-17 billion in 2017.