British giant BP reported strong quarterly earnings today, Tuesday, despite lower oil and natural gas price increases following Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The London-based company said it earned $5 billion in replacement value in the first three months of this year, up from $4.8 billion in the previous quarter. This excludes disposable items and changes in inventory values.
The company added that the income statement “reflects an exceptional result in gas marketing and trading and a very strong result in oil trading.”
“This has been a high performance and strategic performance quarter,” said CEO Bernard Looney.
Oil companies around the world have reported skyrocketing profits since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which skyrocketed energy prices and curtailed some of Moscow’s supplies.
The big profits generated by huge salaries for energy company executives have sparked demands for companies to do more to protect consumers facing exorbitant energy bills.
The latest profit was less than the $6.2 billion reported by BP in the first quarter of 2022, but still above analysts’ expectations despite price cuts.
The company said it expects oil demand to remain “strong” in the second quarter due to the recent decision by OPEC+ countries to curtail production in addition to increased demand from China.
The company has also come under fire recently for backtracking on climate targets as it plans to produce more gas and oil than previously expected by the end of the decade.
Rival oil companies have also released unexpected financial results in recent weeks. Exxon Mobil posted a record profit of $11.4 billion in the first quarter, while Chevron posted $6.6 billion.
Saudi Aramco said in March that it reached $161 billion in 2022, the highest annual profit ever for a listed company.
