Energy giant BP revealed this morning that profits hit £6.9billion in the second quarter of this year - treble the total for the same period in 2021.

It is the latest oil and gas producer to report sparkling figures following the recent surge in oil and gas prices.

The profits total is the second highest in the British company's history.

Two years ago, BP set a new ambition to become a net-zero company by 2050 or sooner - and to help the world get to net zero.

Chief executive Bernard Looney said today: "These results show that BP continues to perform while transforming.

"Our people have continued to work hard throughout the quarter helping to solve the energy trilemma - secure, affordable and lower-carbon energy.

"We do this by providing the oil and gas the world needs today - while at the same time, investing to accelerate the energy transition."

Massive turnaround

The company’s Q2 profits show a massive turnaround in its fortunes from the first quarter of 2022.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, BP announced in February it would exit its shareholding in Rosneft. The British group has held a 19.75% shareholding in the state-owned enterprise since 2013.

BP later reported pre-tax charges totalling over £20billion relating to its interests in Russia.

The company had good news today for shareholders.

There is to be a 10% increase in its quarterly dividend to 6.006 cents (4.91p) per ordinary share.

The group said this rise reflects the underlying performance and cash generation of the business, which has enabled strong progress in delivering share buybacks and net debt reduction.

BP continues to expect to have capacity for an annual increase in the dividend per ordinary share of around 4% through 2025 at a Brent oil price of around $60 per barrel.

Surplus cash flow

During the second quarter, the company generated surplus cash flow of $6.6billion (£5.39billion) and intends to execute a $3.5billion (£2.86billion) share buyback prior to announcing its third-quarter results.

BP has now announced share buybacks from 2021 and first-half 2022 surplus cash flow equivalent to 60% of the cumulative surplus cash flow.

Also today, the group outlined the impact on the business of the UK Government's new windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas producers.

It said the introduction of the levy will result in a one-off, non-cash deferred tax charge of an estimated $0.8billion (£650million).

Looking ahead, BP expects oil prices to remain “elevated” in the third quarter due to ongoing disruption to Russian supply, reduced levels of spare capacity and with inventory levels significantly below the five year average.

It also anticipates that gas prices will remain “elevated and volatile” during the third quarter due to a lack of supply to Europe, with the outlook heavily dependent on Russian pipeline flows or other supply disruptions.

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