With the slump in oil prices showing no signs of abating, 2016 does not look like a vintage year for the industry's biggest companies.



A plunging oil price seems to be the culprit, with WTI, the main U.S. indicator, down 10.76 percent in July, and apparently set for its worst monthly performance since December 2015. Supply seems to have recovered, at the same time as concerns about global demand for oil grew.

BP was the first of the publicly listed oil giants to report this earnings season on Tuesday, ahead of Shell results on Thursday and Exxon Mobil on Friday.

The market wasn't particularly encouraged by the results as it warned refining margins (the difference between the price of oil as a raw material and its products) would stay under significant pressure in the third quarter, and reported underlying replacement cost profit falling to $720 million, below analyst expectations.

Bob Dudley, the company's chief executive, warned of a "challenging" environment and its share price dipped by around 1 percent in early London trade.



