BP profits surge on high prices in Q3

Profit soared at BP in the third quarter, on higher oil and gas prices, strong trading performance and larger refining margins, the UK major reported on November 2.

Underlying replacement cost profit at BP leapt up to $3.32bn in the third quarter, up from $2.8bn in the previous three months and $86mn a year earlier. The company managed to bring its net debt to under $32bn, from $40.4bn a year earlier, and said it would buy back $1.25bn of its shares by early 2022, after repurchasing $900mn in the third quarter.

"Rising commodity prices certainly helped, but I am most pleased that quarter by quarter, we're doing what we said we would - delivering significant cash to strengthen our finances, grow distributions to shareholders and invest in our strategy transformation," BP CEO Bernard Looney said.

Underlying RC profit before interest and tax at BP's oil production and operations surged to $2.46bn in the quarter, from $2.24bn three months earlier and $367mn a year earlier. Meanwhile income from its gas and low carbon energy division leapt up to $1.81bn, from $1.24bn in Q2 2021 and $502mn in Q3 2020.

Earnings from customers and products rose to $1.16bn from $827mn in Q2 2021 and $636mn in Q3 2020, while BP's minority stake in Russia's Rosneft generated $923mn, versus $689mn and a loss of $177mn respectively.

Oil and gas production was down 7.7% in the first nine months of the year at 3.27mn barrels of oil equivalent/day.