LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - BP's oil trading business,one of the biggest in the sector, reported a rare loss in thefourth quarter after it lost a $70 million lawsuit over an oilcargo delivered to a Moroccan refinery.
BP's Chief Financial Officer Brian Gilvary said due to flattrading positions ahead of a crucial OPEC meeting at the end ofNovember, and the lawsuit, the company's oil trading divisionmade a "small loss" in the fourth quarter.
"There was a natural inclination to flatten up all of thebooks and there was also an adverse court ruling against uswhich is a $70 million hit," he told analysts on Tuesday.
The British energy company sold a cargo of Russian Uralscrude to Moroccan refiner Samir in August 2014 which was notpaid for and National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) took on95 percent of that debt.
But London's High Court ruled in November that BP did nothave the right to pass on the debt and ordered BP to pay $68.9million plus interest to NBAD.
Gilvary said if BP had not been ordered to make the payment,its oil trading business would have made a profit in the period.
Across the year, BP's overall energy trading business wasprofitable, Gilvary said, adding that its gas trading desk had a"good result" in the fourth quarter. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; editing by David Clarke)
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