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Profit after tax jumped to $3.91 billion (€3.38bn) in the April-June period from $1.62 billion (€1.40bn) in the second quarter of 2025, BP said in an earnings statement, as fossil fuel prices soared year on year.
The five biggest Western energy majors – BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies – reported combined net profits of almost $47 billion (€40.60bn) in the second quarter as earnings multiplied amid the US-Iran conflict.
The latest reporting period “has been marked by one of the most disrupted periods in the global energy market”, BP chief executive Meg O’Neill said, who has served as CEO since April.
Energy majors around the globe are enjoying soaring profits from their trading operations as oil and gas futures swing between sharp gains and losses on the latest headlines linked to the Middle East conflict.
BP’s total revenue increased 47% to $70 billion (€60.43bn) in the second quarter from a year earlier as the conflict disrupted global supplies of fossil fuels.
BP, whose performance has generally lagged behind that of its rivals in recent years, had slashed clean energy investment ahead of O’Neill’s appointment as the group pivots back towards its more profitable oil and gas business.
However, the group does not see its North Sea business as part of that future, announcing on Friday that it plans to sell the unit.
“We are not making the most of our potential,” O’Neill said in BP’s earnings statement.
“Our performance over the past few years has not met our own expectations, let alone those of our shareholders,” the American added.
BP, which on Tuesday raised its quarterly dividend by 4%, saw its share price climb 0.5% in early London trading following the earnings update.
The group added that a core profit measure, which strips out certain items, more than doubled to $5.7 billion (€4.92bn) in the quarter, outperforming expectations.
“We made good progress strengthening BP’s balance sheet,” O’Neill said.
“In recent weeks, we sold our Gelsenkirchen refinery (in Germany), agreed to sell our retail business in Austria and announced our intention to sell our North Sea business in the UK.
“Today, we are announcing our intention to sell Archaea, our biogas business in the US,” she added.
O’Neill is also seeking to steer the company away from recent internal unrest.
The group faced a shareholder backlash at its annual meeting in April as investors rejected a resolution that would have reduced its climate reporting requirements.
A month later, it unexpectedly removed Albert Manifold as BP chairman, citing “serious concerns” about governance standards, oversight and conduct at the company, which he has denied.
O’Neill, who spent 23 years at ExxonMobil and previously led Australian group Woodside Energy, is the first external candidate to be appointed CEO of BP in the group’s 117-year history.
She replaced Murray Auchincloss, who stepped down after less than two years at the helm.
Additional sources • AFP