BP raises dividend and defends plans to drill deeper Bob Dudley, BP's chief executive, reiterated that the company would be willing to settle the claims - but only on "fair and reasonable terms." He said: "If this is not possible, we are preparing vigorously for trial." BP had always had a "bias toward settling and moving on" he said, admitting "uncertainty" deterred some investors. "We have many people who do say, "We are interested in investing in BP but not until all this is behind you."" Mr Dudley said BP's long-term strategy would "play to its strengths" in exploration, focusing on "deep water, gas value chains and giant fields." BP was "actively investigating" new technologies that could aid it in "drilling deeper wells and overcoming the challenges of developing and exploiting ever higher pressure resources." Questioned on the wisdom of such ambitions after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Mr Dudley said BP "should not stop dead in the water from progressing the very things that are at the heart of our industry." BP's deepest well to date was Tiber in the Gulf of Mexico, at 35,055 ft in 2009. Mr Dudley also suggested BP could attempt further exploration offshore in the Arctic, after its failed tie-up with Russian oil giant Rosneft last year. "The Arctic is a very large area, in Norway, Canada, the US and Russia, and I'm sure down the road we may be working in those places," he said. However Mr Dudley, who had previously expressed surprise the Gulf accident had not created more difficulties for BP in securing exploration leases, suggested that it could still hinder ambitions in the Arctic. "There's no denying it, after our accident there will be much more focus on us if we move into the Arctic, so it is not the driver for us as we move on," he said. He described the attempted Rosneft deal as "a good idea" but added: "We have got lots of ideas." BP had a "plate full of great exploration activities" elsewhere, he said. The company was "on the right path" and would stick to the strategy unveiled in October, when Mr Dudley hailed a "turning point" and set out plans to increase shareholder returns, divest non-core assets and increase cashflow. After 2011"s "year of consolidation," 2012 would be "a year of increasing investment and milestones," including doubling the number of exploration wells drilled, having eight rigs operating in the Gulf of Mexico by the end of the year, and completing payments into the Gulf of Mexico trust fund. Mr Dudley highlighted progress in cleaning up the Gulf: "The beaches are clean, the water is open, the seafood is as good as ever. 2011 has been a great year for tourism on the Gulf Coast. I would encourage all of you to visit. BP's fourth-quarter results beat expectations with underlying replacement cost profit, excluding exceptional items such as legal settlements, of $4.99bn, against consensus of $4.87bn . The shares fell 3p to 486.5p.