The British hydrocarbon giant BP published on Tuesday a net profit group share tripled over one year in the second quarter, to 9.26 billion dollars (9.03 billion euros), driven by soaring hydrocarbon prices .
On the other hand, in the first half, BP posted a net loss of 11.13 billion dollars, the group having spent for the first three months of the year an after-tax charge of 24.4 billion dollars following its exit of the Russian Rosneft in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The group expects oil prices to remain high in the third quarter “due to the continued disruption of Russian supplies” but also to reduced reserve capacities and inventory levels “significantly below average over five years,” he said in a statement.
Excluding exceptional items, BP posted a profit of 8.45 billion dollars in the second quarter and 14.7 billion for the first half of the year.
BP is the latest oil major to post a record profit for the period, after in particular its compatriot Shell, which had seen its profits multiplied by five to 18 billion dollars over the period, or TotalEnergies (4.7 billion dollars) .
The combined profits of the biggest companies in the sector (TotalEnergies, Shell, Exxon, Chevron and BP) for the period amount to around 62.5 billion dollars, according to AFP calculations.
Hydrocarbon prices have been soaring for months, particularly in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Faced with the profits of the oil majors, London announced in May an exceptional tax on the energy sector, in part to help finance government aid to the poorest households in the face of the cost of living crisis.