After achieving “exceptional” results in oil refining and trade, BP Plc (NYSE: BP) increased its dividend and accelerated its share repurchases to their quickest rate to date. Even if the energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine poses a threat to the global economy, the oil and gas business is increasing shareholder returns as cash flows in. BP (NYSE: BP) stated that it anticipates oil prices to continue elevated and emphasized its investments in extra supplies.

BP (NYSE:BP) CEO Bernard Looney in a Tuesday statement said that Today’s results demonstrate that BP (NYSE:BP) continues to succeed while undergoing transformation. He added that the corporation is producing the oil and gas that the world needs today, while also investing in the acceleration of the energy revolution. The London-based corporation will repurchase $3.5 billion in shares over the next three months, in addition to the $3.8 billion it bought back in the first half. Additionally, the dividend was raised by 10%. As of 9:30 a.m. in London, the company’s stock price increased 4.5% to 409.8 pence. The dividend was increased to 6 cents per share, surpassing the earlier goal to enhance the distribution by about 4 percent every year through 2025. At the end of the quarter, the net debt decreased from $32.7 billion to $22.82 billion. Redburn analysts noted in a research note that BP (NYSE:BP)  delivered across all three major areas: earnings/cash, capital discipline, and shareholder distributions.

The adjusted net income for BP’s second quarter was $8.45 billion, the highest since 2008 and comfortably above the top analyst projection. This was not solely due to rising crude and natural gas prices; the company’s refineries and oil traders also contributed to its extraordinary success. The business never specifies how much profit its oil traders create, but its refining and trading unit reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of $3.73 billion, up from $301 million a year before.

Political Pressure

The oil business is accused of profiting from the aftermath of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression, as well as neglecting to invest enough in new drilling, at a politically precarious moment. Alongside its earnings report, BP (NYSE:BP) issued a comprehensive list of its interests in the United Kingdom, where the rising cost of energy has become a political hot potato and the North Sea oil and gas industry has already been hammered by a windfall tax.

This has not halted calls for additional taxation. Sana Yusuf, a campaigner for Friends of the Earth, stated that a far stricter windfall tax on oil and gas revenues is required. She stated in a statement, It defies imagination that these firms are raking in such enormous profits during a cost-of-living crisis.

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