BP reports bumper profits due to soaring gas and oil prices

Company follows Shell in benefiting from energy crisis, which will prompt calls for windfall tax

Last modified on Tue 8 Feb 2022 02.42 EST

BP has reported a quarterly profit of more than $4bn (£2.96bn) and annual profits hit an eight-year high as it benefited from a surge in energy prices around the world.

The oil company’s underlying profit of $4.1bn in the final quarter of 2021 compares with just $115m a year before. Over the year as a whole, BP made a profit of $12.8bn as global gas markets surged and oil prices rallied to seven-year highs. It compared with a $5.7bn loss in 2020.

The bumper profits are likely to prompt fresh calls for a windfall tax on fossil fuel companies to fund extra help for hard-hit households braced for a sharp rise in energy bills and wider cost of living crisis. Last week, BP’s rival, Shell, reported a quadrupling of profits.

In December the BP chief executive, Bernard Looney, said the energy crisis had transformed the company into a “cash machine”.

Commenting on the results on Tuesday, Looney said: “2021 shows BP doing what we said we would – performing while transforming. We’ve strengthened the balance sheet and grown returns. We’re delivering distributions to shareholders with $4.15bn of buybacks announced and the dividend increased.

“And we’re investing for the future. We’ve made strong progress in our transformation to an integrated energy company: focusing and high grading our hydrocarbons business, growing in convenience and mobility and building with discipline a low carbon energy business now with over 5GW in offshore wind projects – and significant opportunities in hydrogen.”

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