BP has reported that its profits have almost tripled in the most recent financial quarter, as oil and gas prices have soared.
The oil giant made £7.1bn ($8.15bn) over the period, with prices exacerbated by the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The increase is far higher than many analysts anticipated, and BP say they expect to pay £700m ($800m) in UK windfall tax this year, following the government's introduction of the levy.
BP boss Bernard Looney said the company is 'focused' on 'helping to solve the energy trilemma' - secure, affordable and lower carbon energy. He added that BP is in a transition period with the aim of moving to lower carbon energy.
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"We are providing the oil and gas the world needs today - while at the same time investing to accelerate the energy transition," he said.
This year has been extremely profitable for BP, as the war in Ukraine continues to push oil and gas prices higher. Three months ago it tripled its quarterly profits to $8.5bn for April-June - and this quarter, profits remain over double over the same three months last year.
When introduced earlier this year, Rishi Sunak, who introduced the Energy Profits Levy, said it would raise £5bn in its first year. The huge profits are likely to lead to renewed calls for a higher windfall tax on oil and gas companies.
There are reports that chancellor Jeremy Hunt could increase the windfall tax rate to 30%, and run it until 2028, to help fix the UK’s fiscal ‘black hole’, reports The Guardian.
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