BP has bounced back into net profit in the second quarter of 2011, aided by high oil prices, but said overall production was down in the North Sea and other fields.

Chief executive Bob Dudley said production problems were expected to continue into the third quarter, adding that they were “a near-term effect”.

The London-based oil and gas firm said net profit for the second quarter was $5.62 billion (£3.5bn) compared with a $17.15bn loss a year ago. This fell short of market expectations for adjusted profit of about $6bn and the company shares shed 12.15p, or 2.5%, to 463.25p in London dealing.

The loss stemmed from a pre-tax charge of $32bn to cover costs relating to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010. Revenue for the quarter was up 39% to $103.8bn from $75.87bn in the same period in 2010.

The firm was also boosted by high oil prices, which soared during the reporting period amid violent unrest in the crude-producing Middle East and North Africa region.

The average price of North Sea Brent crude oil rocketed by almost 50% to stand at $117.04 per barrel in the second quarter.

Total oil and gas production, including the North Sea, was 3.43 million barrels a day, a drop of almost 11% on an annual basis due to the cumulative effect of asset sales, maintenance in Angola and the North Sea, and a lack of drilling activity in the Gulf of Mexico because of the Deep-water Horizon oil platform explosion which killed 11 oil workers.

Analysts were concerned about growth strategy after the demise of a major deal in Russia and the effectiveness of safety upgrades following a recent fire on the Valhall oil platform in the North Sea off Norway.

“BP appears to be running a business as usual strategy and we are not convinced that the market will put up with this for much longer. BP has been significantly underperforming the peer group for some time and this looks set to continue,” said analyst Douglas Youngson at Arbuthnot Securities.

The company said it expected nine new projects in places such as Angola, the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico to come online during the next two years.

It also announced it was on track to increase the number of wells to test new plays in Brazil, Trinidad and Australia.

BP plans to spend £3bn redeveloping two major oilfields to the west of the Shetland Islands despite an increase in oil tax imposed by Chancellor George Osborne.