THE new chief executive at BP put the focus on the future – as figures showed the oil company sank to its first loss in nearly 20 years.

Bob Dudley unveiled a new strategy for the company – including increased spending on exploration, a return to dividend payments and the proposed sale of two key US refineries.

The developments came as BP posted losses of £3.1bn for 2010 compared with profits of £8.7bn the previous year after the financial impact of the fatal Deepwater Horizon explosion was deducted.

BP again increased its estimate of the cost of the disaster to £25.5bn after it took an additional £647.8m hit in the fourth quarter.

Analysts viewed the company’s decision to resume dividend payments as a sign that the firm is recovering.

The move will also be welcomed by pension holders and investors – given the stock previously accounted for an estimated one in every six pension pounds.

BP said the payment will grow over time, in line with the “improving circumstances of the company”.

The disposals in North America – including a plant in Texas City, which was the site of a fatal fire and explosion in 2005 – will halve refining capacity in the US.

The sale will signal a shift away from the country, where BP’s credibility is tarnished following the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Mr Dudley said resuming the dividend, halving US refining capacity and investing in exploration were all part of a push to give BP shareholders greater value, adding: “It’s about choices for the future rather than the legacy of the past.”

But he added: “We remain deeply sorry for what happened and its effects on the families and communities involved. Nothing can restore the loss of those 11 men.”

As well as the Texas City plant, the firm also plans to sell its refinery at Carson, near Los Angeles, California.

Discussing the disposals, Mr Dudley said: “We remain solidly committed to doing business in the US.”

But he said the plants’ current financial performance did not meet its financial goals and failed its “strategic hurdles”.

BP said the sell-offs and restrictions in the Gulf of Mexico would hit production levels. The company expects to produce 3.4m barrels of oil and gas a day in 2011.