BP profits slumped during the latest quarter after energy prices fell back from spikes caused by Russia’s war with Ukraine.
The oil giant revealed profits fell 70 per cent to £2billion between April and June, down from the £6.6billion profits in the same quarter of last year – a period covering the early stages of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Rival Shell recently reported £4billion in income for the April-to-June quarter.
But investors were unnerved by the lower profit figure as shares slid 0.3 per cent, despite BP promising bumper investor payouts.
The group hiked its dividend by 10 per cent and also committed to another £1.2billion in share repurchases this quarter, following £3.5billion in share buybacks already announced and completed this year.
Resilient: BP, led by boss Bernard Looney (pictured), said profits fell 70% to £2bn between April and June, down from £6.6bn in the same quarter of last year
Chief executive Bernard Looney said: ‘Another quarter of performing while transforming.
Our underlying performance was resilient with good cash delivery – during a period of significant turnaround activity and weaker margins in our refining business.’
On Monday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced plans to extract more fossil fuel from the North Sea when he said the Government would grant 100 oil and gas licences for the region.
BP confirmed it was taking part in the 33rd round of offshore oil and gas exploration licences which will be awarded before the end of this year.
Commenting on BP’s place in the North Sea, Looney said: ‘It is a great part of our company and I expect it to be a great part of our company for many decades to come.’
Sunak also suggested that the Government would be reviewing the tax regime for oil giants, which includes a 35 per cent ‘energy profits levy’ on the profits made from the North Sea, as well as a 40 per cent headline rate of tax.
Although the Treasury has already committed to keeping the tax in place until March 2028, ministers have launched a call for evidence seeking views on the ‘evolving context for taxes’ on the sector.
The windfall tax has been hugely unpopular for the energy sector, which argues that it discourages investment in the UK.
BP said it has paid £761million tax on its North Sea business between January and June alone – with nearly half due to the windfall tax.
