Profit more than doubled at oil giant BP last year as the business benefited from runaway gas prices caused by the war in Ukraine. The company said that it would invest an additional $8billion dollars - £6.6billion - each in the energy transition, and in oil and gas, as boss Bernard Looney promised to keep affordable energy flowing.
The business said that underlying replacement cost profit - the figure most followed by analysts - had reached $27.7billion dollars - £23billion last year. The measure was slightly lower in the last three months of the year compared to previous quarters at $4.8billion dollars - £4billion).
BP said that the result had been affected by its gas marketing division, which saw below average results after an exceptional third quarter. The massive profit is set to put BP at the centre of another political battle. Last week Shell reported its highest profit in history, sparking calls for an additional windfall tax.
BP chief executive Bernard Looney said: "We are strengthening BP, with our strongest upstream plant reliability on record and our lowest production costs in 16 years, helping to generate strong returns and reducing debt for the 11th quarter in a row.
"Importantly, we are delivering for our shareholders - with buybacks and a growing dividend. This is exactly what we said we would do and will continue to do - performing while transforming."
BP has also made a big cut to the ambition of its climate change pledge. The business said it expects the carbon emissions form its oil and gas production will fall by between 20-30% by 2030, when compared to 2019. Its previous target had been a 35-40% drop in emissions.
It comes as the business said that its oil and gas production will be around two million barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2030. This is 25% lower than in in 2019, but its previous plan had been to cut production by 40%.
"We need continuing near-term investment into today's energy system, which depends on oil and gas, to meet today's demands and to make sure the transition is an orderly one," said chief executive Mr Looney.
"We have high-quality options throughout our portfolio, allowing us to choose only the best. "We will prioritise projects where we can deliver quickly, at low cost, using our existing infrastructure, allowing us to minimise additional emissions and maximise both value and our contribution to energy security and affordability."
Shadow climate secretary Ed Miliband called on the Government to bring forward a "proper" windfall tax on energy companies.
The Labour MP said: "It's yet another day of enormous profits at an energy giant, the windfalls of war, coming out of the pockets of the British people. What is outrageous is that as energy giants rake in these sums, Rishi Sunak still refuses to bring in a proper windfall tax.
"This is why people are sick and tired of the way the country is run under the Tories. In just eight weeks time, the Government plans to allow the energy price cap to rise to £3,000. Labour would use a proper windfall tax to stop prices going up in April."
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: "As millions struggle to heat their homes and put food on the table, BP are laughing all the way to the bank. Hard-pressed families will rightly feel furious - they are being treated like cash machines.
"This boils down to political choices. Ministers are letting big oil and gas companies pocket billions in excess profits. But they are refusing to give nurses, teachers and other key workers a decent pay rise.
"We need a government on the side of working people, not fat cat energy producers. That means imposing a higher windfall tax on the likes of BP and Shell. It means giving public servants fair pay. And it means giving households extra financial support as bills rise this April."
Greenpeace UK's head of climate justice, Kate Blagojevic, said: "BP is yet another fossil fuel giant mining gold out of the vast suffering caused by the climate and energy crisis. What's worse, their green plans seem to have been strongly undermined by pressure from investors and governments to make even more dirty money out of oil and gas.
"This is precisely why we need governments to intervene to change the rules. Not only will BP's new strategy fail to deliver much needed energy security in the UK but it will ensure that people across the globe already battling devastating droughts, floods and heatwaves, will continue losing their lives and livelihoods. It's time to stop drilling and start making polluters, not communities, who did least to cause the problem, pay the price for the climate damage they are causing all around the world."
