Our planet will foot the bill for BP's messy finances

Those who hold the interests of the planet close to their hearts could be forgiven for indulging in a little schadenfreude at BP's expense.

- JAMES MOORE

The oil giant delivered a miserable first quarter, in which its "underlying" profits halved to $1.38bn (£1.03bn), when compared to the same period last year.

The company also missed analysts’ forecasts, which ranks high on the list of crimes and misdemeanours on Wall Street and in the City. Worse still, it has committed this sin for three out of the last five three-month reporting periods. Scratch the surface, though, and you’ll see there really isn’t much to be happy about.

Start with the fact that Giulia Chierchia, the company’s strategy boss and the architect of its abortive move into renewables, is out. Chierchia was conspicuously absent when BP announced it was putting its eggs back in the hydrocarbon basket in February. She will not be replaced. And the chair, Helge Lund, who had backed the move, is also departing.