The file photo shows a petrol station owned by British energy giant BP in UK. [Photo: chinaunix.net]

British energy giant BP is reporting its annual profits have fallen by 51 percent to 5.9 billion US dollars through this past year.

It represents BP's biggest loss in over 20 years.

The company is attributing this mostly to slumping oil prices, which have dropped by around 75-percent since mid-2014.

In announcing its annual losses British Petroleum has also announced an additional 3-thousand job cuts by the end of 2017.

The latest job cuts will affect positions in its downstream business including refining, marketing and distribution.

BP shares in London dropped around 9-percent on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, US oil giant Exxon Mobil has also announced a 58 percent profit loss through its fiscal 4th quarter.