LONDON, Feb 27 (KUNA) -- British Petroleum (BP) chief executive Tony Hayward Wednesday said the oil major could pump four million barrels of oil a day until 2020, without the need for any fresh discoveries.
But the company expects to exceed this with USD one billion (502 million pounds) due to be spent this year on exploration as well as through access to new sources in Libya, Oman, Colombia and Canada, Hayward told a conference here.
The company's reserves currently stand at 17.8 billion barrels and it expects to pump 4.3 million barrels a day by 2012, he added.
Hayward also outlined plans to add up to USD four billion (2.01 billion pounds) to the oil major's profits through a far-reaching overhaul of the business.
The oil giant revealed a 22 percent fall in 2007 profits to 17.29 billion US dollars (8.76 billion pounds) earlier this month but Hayward said BP now had a "clear, step-by-step plan'' to close the gap on rival Royal Dutch Shell.The chief executive said the firm would boost profits in the next three to four years through restoring and upgrading BP's problem-hit US refineries.
Its Texas City refinery, rocked by an explosion which killed 15 workers in 2005, will see additional capacity back on stream within weeks, Hayward went on.
The chief executive told the gathering that he had carried out one of the most wide-ranging reviews in BP's recent history since succeeding Lord Browne, who resigned last May after lying to a court in a bid to prevent newspaper stories about his private life.
Profits should also be boosted by more rigorous investment decisions, and cutting overheads across the business by up to 20 percent.
BP announced 5,000 job cuts earlier this month, including 1,500 in the UK, and has already moved to take 9,500 jobs off the payroll in the US after franchising its retail business.
Copyright Kuwait News Agency 2008.
