BP’s shares have declined by over 3 per cent this morning on the news that its oil and gas production fell further than expected in the past three months, partly as a result of its beleaguered Alaskan operations. The news pulled the whole British energy sector down by more than 1%.

Although analysts had predicted a fourth-quarter output close to 4 million boepd (barrels of oil equivalent per day) the company’s production was about 3.82 boepd. BP also said that refining margins, an indicator of the profitability of the firm’s refineries, fell 17 per cent to $6.30 per barrel.

Has the shine finally come off Sir John?