Oil company says $2.7bn in losses after refinery shutdown

Oil and gas company Arco Petroleum said Thursday it has suffered a $2 billion loss as of the fourth quarter of this year due to a refinery shutdown.

Arco, which has been under investigation by U.S. authorities for its role in the deadly 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, said it expects the loss to grow to $2bn to $3bn in the coming months as it refines more oil from a number of refineries around the world.

The refinery shutdown, which shut down about half of its operations, led to a $1.4 billion reduction in Arco’s total refinery operating costs.

The company said its total refinery revenue fell to $1 billion from $2 million in the third quarter of 2015, primarily because of lower production from its existing refinery in Oklahoma and other plants in the United States.

The news comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week that allows him to impose a temporary suspension of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

The president had threatened to halt the trade deal with countries that voted against the trade pact in November.

Trump has said he wants to renegotiate the trade agreement, and his administration has threatened to sue countries that have withdrawn from the deal.