Underlying fourth-quarter profits fell to $196m, compared with $2.2bn for the same period the previous year.

According to BBC, BP said its upstream business, which is exploration and production, slumped to a $728m loss in the final quarter.

The company has also announced another 3,000 job cuts on top of the 4,000 already confirmed.

The reduction of up to 3,000 by the end of 2017 concerns staff and contractors in its downstream segment. BBC reports.

This refers to its refined oil products, such as fuel, lubricants and petrochemicals, for making products such as paint and plastic bottles.

The 4,000 upstream cuts were announced last year in oil and gas production as part of a $2.5bn restructuring programme.

BP said the fall in profits was mainly due to the "impact of steeply lower oil and gas prices in its upstream operations".

The oil giant was the biggest faller on the FTSE 100 index in early trading, tumbling 6%.

Meanwhile BP's results are the latest in a round of weak fourth-quarterly earnings in the sector. Last week, Chevron announced its first quarterly loss in more than 13 years.

Shell, which reports its fourth-quarter and full-year results on Thursday, has warned in a trading statement that its underlying profits could be halved.