BP's new chief executive has shifted focus at the oil giant to the "future rather than the legacy of the past" as the company revealed the Gulf of Mexico oil spill saw it sink to its first loss in nearly 20 years.
Bob Dudley unveiled a raft of strategic moves at the embattled firm, including a return to dividend payments of seven cents a share, increased spending on exploration and the proposed sale of two key US refineries.
The developments came as BP posted a loss of 4.9 billion US dollars (£3.1 billion) in the year to December 31, compared with profits of 13.9 billion US dollars (£8.7 billion) in 2009, after the financial impact of the fatal Deepwater Horizon explosion was deducted.
BP once again upped its estimate of the cost of the disaster to 40.9 billion US dollars (£25.5 billion) after it took an additional 1.04 billion US dollars (£647.8 million) hit in the fourth quarter.
But the company's decision to resume dividend payments is a signal that the firm is recovering and will be welcomed by pension holders and investors given the stock previously accounted for an estimated one in every six pension pounds. BP said the payment will grow over time, in line with the "improving circumstances of the company".
The disposals in North America - including a plant in Texas City, which was the site of a fatal fire and explosion in 2005 - will halve refining capacity in the US and signal a shift away from the country, where its credibility is tarnished.
Speaking at BP's head office in London, Mr Dudley said resuming the dividend, halving US refining capacity and investing in exploration were all part of a push to give BP shareholders greater value.
In a sign that BP was trying to move on from the events of 2010, he said: "It's about choices for the future rather than the legacy of the past."
Though he added: "We remain deeply sorry for what happened and its effects on the families and communities involved. Nothing can restore the loss of those 11 men."
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Mr Dudley said plans to reshape its downstream business - the oil and gas operations which take place after the production phase - would involve concentrating on growth in developing and emerging markets.
