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BP's quarterly profits doubled.


The oil giant's underlying profits, up from $3.3 billion a year earlier, were one of its best results ever and significantly better than the $6.1 billion analysts had forecast, thanks to an "exceptional" result by its gas traders. The company announced it would reward investors by buying back $2.5 billion of its shares. The company said that it expected its taxes in the North Sea this year to include about $800 million relating to the levy imposed by Rishi Sunak when he was chancellor in May, which increased the effective tax rate from 40 per cent to 65 per cent. BP is one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, with operations in about 70 countries worldwide, ranging from exploration and production to fuel retailing.

It is the fourth most significant oil and gas producer in the UK North Sea. The company has made global underlying profits of $22.8 billion this year as it benefits from higher oil and gas prices, which surged after Russia invaded Ukraine. Although oil prices have fallen back from their peaks in the summer, they still averaged more than $100 a barrel in the third quarter, compared with less than $74 a barrel a year earlier. Gas prices in the UK averaged more than 280p a therm in the third quarter, compared with 119p a therm a year earlier.

Alok Sharma, the president of the COP26 climate summit, called for the government to "raise more money from a windfall tax on oil and gas companies and actively encourage them to invest in renewables". "The left-of-centre IPPR think-tank called for a tax on share buybacks, accusing BP of "making huge profits and channelling these straight back to already-wealthy shareholders through share buyback schemes". "A 25 per cent windfall tax on the share buybacks of BP and Shell would raise to £4.8 billion per year for the Treasury. "BP shares rose 1p, or 0.2 per cent, to 481½p this morning."

The shares have risen 37.5 per cent so far this year.

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