Billions are also pouring in at BP thanks to the energy crisis

Like many other oil and gas companies, British BP’s revenues have risen by many billions. Excluding one-off write-offs, profit doubled to almost 26 billion euros.

Below the line, BP appears to have lost 2.3 billion euros in 2022, while the other oil and gas companies reported profits of tens of billions last week. This is mainly because BP had made large investments in Russia.

Due to the sanctions against Russia, the company had to write off more than 23 billion euros, especially in the first months of last year. If you only look at the last quarter, in which that depreciation is not included, the company made a profit of almost 11 billion euros.

BP’s figures come as no surprise. Other gas and oil companies announced mega profits when they presented their annual figures. For example, Shell doubled its profit to more than 38 billion euros, ExxonMobil tapped more than 52 billion euros and Saudi Aramco’s counter already stands at more than 120 billion euros in profit in the first 9 months.

The companies are making such profits because oil and gas became scarcer and the raw materials extracted by the oil and gas companies rose in value at a rapid pace. The sales prices were therefore higher, while it was no more expensive to get it out of the ground.

The companies and their shareholders are happy with the profits, but there is also criticism, for example from the environmental angle, but also from politicians. There is discomfort there because many people have run into financial problems due to the high energy prices.

BP, a British company, has to give up part of its extra income in Great Britain by paying extra tax. At Shell, that would amount to around 2 billion euros.