* BP reports strong Q1 gas and oil trading results
* Energy major had slightly lower refined oil volumes
* Polar Vortex created extraordinary volatility in US mkts
By David Sheppard
LONDON, April 29 (Reuters) - BP Plc became the latestenergy company on Tuesday to show strong trading results in thefirst quarter as the coldest winter in three decades in theUnited States provided a boost to many power and gas dealers.
The energy major said its trading operations had helpedoffset lower returns elsewhere in the group. It cited "stronggas marketing and trading results and higher gas realizations,"which is industry jargon for a profit increase resulting fromextraordinary volatility in gas prices.
The so-called 'Polar Vortex' in the United States briefly upended the U.S. natural gas market, with physical prices at theprimary New York trading hub spiking more than 20-fold in oneday during January as utilities scrambled to secure supplies.
Those trading conditions have led a number of firms,including Wall Street banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, toreport higher-than-expected returns from their energy tradingarms in the first quarter.
"Overall results were strong in both gas and oil tradingglobally in the first quarter," said BP spokesman David Nicholasin London, declining to give more details.
BP is by far the biggest trader of physical natural gas inthe United States, according to data from the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commision (FERC), and is also an active trader ofelectricity supplies. Its results also include its globalliquefied natural gas (LNG) business.
While BP doesn't break out revenues for its tradingoperations, it did report slightly lower year-on-year levels ofrefined product sales and trading, pointing to particularlystrong results in its gas and power operations.
In the first quarter, BP sold 5.2 million barrels per day(bpd) of refined products through its marketing and tradingoperations, down from 5.4 million bpd in the same quarter lastyear. Its refineries processed 1.7 million bpd of crude duringthe same period this year.
"The supply and trading result was strong for the firstquarter, similar to levels achieved in the same period of 2013,"BP said in its quarterly statement to shareholders.
BP on Tuesday reported a 24 percent drop in overallfirst-quarter underlying replacement cost profit to $3.2billion, slightly ahead of a consensus forecast of $3.1 billion.
Trading makes up a bigger part of BP's operations than atmany other energy majors. Rivals such as Exxon Mobil saythat while they market their oil and refinery output tocustomers, they don't actively trade.
Its annual report in February revealed that BP had benefitedin the first six months of 2013 from big swings in crude oilprices, with the U.S. benchmark WTI contract sharply narrowingits discount to international benchmark Brent.
Its massive 405,000 bpd refinery in Whiting, Indiana, isexpected to increase the amount of heavy, discounted Canadiancrude it processes to 280,000 bpd in the second quarter fromaround 200,000 bpd, the company said.
The last time BP disclosed its annual trading results in2005 it showed earnings of $2.97 billion, or over a tenth of itsoverall net profit that year. (editing by Jane Baird)
BP (BP.)
