BP Profits Jump as Middle East Conflict Drives Up Oil Refining Margins
BP has posted a jump in its quarterly profits as the war in the Middle East drove up oil and gas prices and led to "significantly higher" trading. The energy company said on Friday that third-quarter underlying replacement cost profit – a key measure of its income – rose to $8.46bn, up from $2.2bn a year ago. Analysts had expected profits of $7.33bn.
The company said the jump in profits "mainly reflects significantly higher realised refining margins and significantly higher gas and marketing trading result". BP's quarterly earnings were bolstered by higher profits from the oil refining business. Although global oil prices have remained below the peaks recorded during the 2022 energy crisis, the pumping to questions over how they will allocate the extra cash. BP said on Friday it would use the excess cashflow generated by earnings to address remaining liabilities in full from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Deepwater Horizon oil spill payables and provisions stood at $5.94bn, according to BP data.
BP is expected to set out its first major strategy update under O'Neill on 15 December, which market observers expect will outline the company's plans to grow its oil and gas production and potentially restart share buybacks from next year.
