Oil giants in £250bn profits boom: BP and Aramco are latest to cash in

Six of the world’s largest oil companies have brought in nearly £250 billion in profits so far this year.

While the industry is benefiting from high oil and gas prices, BP and Saudi Aramco became the last companies to make huge profits.

London-based BP reported third-quarter profits of £7.1 billion, up from £2.9 billion a year earlier.

Aramco, headquartered in Saudi Arabia, posted a profit of £37 billion, the second-largest profit in its history and an increase of £26 billion in the third quarter last year.

By the numbers, profits at Aramco rose to £113 billion in the first nine months of the year, while BP made nearly £20 billion.

Rival oil giants Shell, Total-Energies, ExxonMobil and Chevron have also reported huge gains in recent days – bringing the six’s total to nearly £90 billion in the third quarter and more than £246 billion since the start of the year.

It fueled calls for windfall taxes on the industry amid a backlash from politicians seeking to raise money to fund government spending and the public faced with rising energy bills.

This week, US President Joe Biden accused companies of cashing in on the invasion of Ukraine, which has seen oil and gas from Russia choking and fueling global energy prices as demand outstrips supply.

“It’s time these companies put an end to war profits,” he warned. Biden has threatened to impose a levy on companies unless they increase production and lower prices for consumers.

“In times of war, any company that receives historic unexpected profits has a responsibility to go beyond the self-interest of its executives and shareholders,” he added.

But the rise in profits has been a boon to savers and pension funds with money tied up in the industry – raising pension pots into the millions.

When publishing its third quarter figures, BP outlined plans to buy back a further £2.2 billion of its shares and pay shareholders a £5.2 billion dividend, 10 per cent more than in the same period last year. year.

Shares were up 1.39 percent or 6.65p to 486.45p.

Strong results at Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, allowed it to maintain its £16.3 billion quarterly dividend. Most of the payout will go to the Saudi state, which owns 98 percent of Aramco’s shares.

Shell last week reported quarterly profits of £8.2bn, up from £3.6bn a year ago, alongside plans to buy back another £3.5bn of shares and increase the dividend by 15 percent.

Analysts warned the numbers would increase pressure on the government to raise taxes on industry to plug a £50bn black hole in public finances.

As chancellor, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak imposed a 25 percent windfall on the North Sea and could now sanction an even higher levy when Jeremy Hunt delivers the fall statement this month.

Analyst Jamie Maddock of investment manager Quilter Cheviot: “As long as BP makes a profit like that every quarter, the calls to part with more of their profits will only get louder.”