Oil giant BP saw its profits rise to just under $5billion (£4bn) for the first three months of the year as the company benefited from high energy prices. The profits were half a billion pounds higher than forecasts expected.
Between January and March 2023 the company made underlying replacement cost profit of just under $5bn. The figure was the second-highest result BP has reported in 10 years and was beaten only by its profit last year when energy prices were extremely high.
Bernard Looney, BP's CEO, said: “This has been a quarter of strong performance and strategic delivery as we continue to focus on safe and reliable operations.”
The decrease in profits from last year occurred because BP received less money for the oil and gas that it sold. However, this was partly offset by a strong performance in its gas marketing division.
The oil giant's huge profits have led to renewed criticism of the company. Shadow energy secretary Ed Miliband called the profits "unearned" and described them as the "unexpected windfalls of war".
BP has been hit by extra windfall taxes on the profits it makes from pumping oil and gas from UK waters. However, critics of the tax say it allows energy companies to avoid paying the bill if they invest in drilling for more oil and gas.
Mr Miliband said: “These enormous profits are the unearned, unexpected windfalls of war. And every excess pound that the energy giants rake in is at the expense of British families.
“Yet, after all this time, the Tory windfall tax is still full of get-out clauses with billions being bunged at oil and gas companies in special subsidies not available in any other part of the energy sector.”
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BP said it expects oil prices to remain high after a recent decision by Opec+, a cartel of oil-producing countries, to restrict production in order to keep prices up. Demand from China will also serve to put upwards pressure on both the cost of oil and the cost of liquid natural gas.
