BP hikes debt, keeps dividend as virus hits profits

BP hikes debt, keeps dividend as virus hits profits

But BP, whose net debt climbed to its highest since at least 2015, kept its dividend of 10.5 cents per share and said it had repurchased shares worth $776 million in the quarter.. Norway's Equinor became the first big oil firm to cut its dividend, reducing its first-quarter payout by two thirds and suspending a $5 billion share buyback.. BP, like its peers, responded to the 65 percent drop in oil prices in the first quarter by sharply reducing spending.. Looney said that BP aimed to reduce costs so it could generate profits and pay dividends at an oil price of $35 a barrel in 2021, down from a breakeven $56 a barrel in 2019.. Saudi cabinet urges southern Yemeni separatists to reverse self-rule decision /node/1666666/saudi-arabia. Cabinet ministers approved in principle the setting up of a state-owned, joint-stock company for mining services. RIYADH: The Saudi cabinet on Tuesday called for the situation in Yemen to return to the way it was before separatists seized control in the interim capital Aden and some southern governorates, according to state news agency SPA.. The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen on Monday urged the separatists to reverse their decision, describing it as "escalatory action"