Oil giant BP said it has “more cash than we know what to do with” as it revealed profits near £10billion while households face a devastating rise in energy bills.
It confirmed it would use excess money to reward shareholders.
And boss Bernard Looney, who has splashed out on a £5.2million apartment, is set for a bumper bonus.
Yet the company rejected calls for a windfall tax on oil and gas producers to help ease the cost of living crisis.
And campaigners claim BP has received £493million in tax rebates on its North Sea operations since 2016.
Last year Mr Looney called the firm a “cash machine” thanks to a leap in wholesale costs. Those soaring costs, which are leading to high energy bills and pump prices, were one factor that helped BP’s profits jump to £3billion in the final three months of last year.
For the whole of 2021, it swung from a £4billion loss to a £9.5billion profit.
BP said it would hand £1.1billion to investors through a share buyback programme, with £3billion a year earmarked while oil prices stay high.
Shareholders were also promised higher dividend payouts.
Murray Auchincloss, BP’s finance boss, told analysts: “It is possible that we are getting more cash than we know what to do with.”
BP was said to be the largest of 19 oil companies to have benefited from tax rebates totalling nearly £2.4billion since 2016, according to a report by environmental campaign group Uplift.
The rebates are given for the decommissioning of old oil rigs and to offset other types of investment.
BP said: “Primarily due to our high level of investment and the impact of low oil prices in recent years, our North Sea business has not paid corporation tax for a number of years.
“However, in that period we have invested $7bn [£5.17bn] in the North Sea, supporting thousands of jobs.”
Average energy bills are set to soar to nearly £2,000 from April and pump prices are up as oil hit over $90 a barrel.
Producers would likely argue they are benefiting from wholesale prices outside their control. But calling for a windfall tax, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said: “It cannot be right energy companies are making super profits while people are too scared to turn their radiators on.”
Mr Looney claimed a windfall tax would deter investment, an argument backed by Rishi Sunak. The BP boss said: “We need to be encouraging investment in natural gas in Britain.”
Mr Looney, 52, has a £1.3million annual salary, though he handed 20% of that to mental health charities in 2020.
He did not get an annual bonus for 2020 but could be entitled to a big payout for last year. The most he could get is 225% his salary, or £3million.
But even the firm’s “target” of 112% would be worth £1.5million. Mr Looney, who joined BP in 1991, paid £5.2million for a flat in Mayfair, Central London.
BP would not comment on whether he would get a bonus, or if it paid any North Sea corporation tax last year. It said BP paid nearly £200million tax across its UK operations in 2020, though most was through employer taxes.
