London, 27 July (Argus) — BP's second-quarter European gas production was down by nearly 15pc compared with the same period last year, although output was largely steady from the first three months of 2010 amid strong market prices.

The firm's 15.6mn m³/d of European gas output was down by just 0.2mn m³/d from the first quarter, but was 14.6pc or 2.7mn m³/d lower on the year. BP no longer breaks out its UK production from the broader European figure, although during at least the first two months of the quarter, overall gas production from the Bruce and Rhum fields, in which it owns a stake, was down by just over 1.5mn m³/d compared with April and May last year.

BP's realised European gas price rose during the second quarter, in line with stronger market prices during the first half of the summer. The company reported a 34.5p/th realised price for Europe, up from just under 31.5p/th during the first quarter and 31.35p/th during the second quarter last year. The company's realised price for the quarter was around 3.75p/th below the average NBP day-ahead, in from a 4.25p/th discount during the first quarter.

Although discounted during the past two quarters, BP's European realised price typically follows market prices more closely than the prevailing oil-indexed contract price, against which some of its competitors appear to price the bulk of their sales.

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