BP's profit reaches 14-year high in 2Q22

BP's second-quarter profit soared to $8.45 billion, its highest in 14 years, as strong refining margins and trading prompted it to boost its dividend and spending on new oil and gas production, Report informs via Reuters.

"The company is running well and it continues to strengthen. We have real strategic momentum," Chief Executive Officer Bernard Looney told Reuters.

BP shares were up 3.6% at the opening of trading in London.

Looney, who took office in 2020 with a vow to rapidly shift BP away from fossil fuels to renewables, said that the company will increase its spending on new oil and gas by $500 million in response to the global supply crunch.

BP plans to maintain its overall capital expenditure this year in a range of $14 billion to $15 billion.

BP increased its dividend by 10% to 6.006 cents per share, more than its previous guidance of a 4% annual increase. It halved its dividend to 5.25 cents in July 2020 for the first time in a decade in the wake of the pandemic.

The company also increased its share repurchases plan for the current quarter to $3.5 billion after it bought $4.1 billion in the first half of the year.

The company said it expected crude oil and gas prices as well as refining margins to remain "elevated" in the third quarter and said it would stick to its target of using 60% of its surplus cash on share buybacks.

The surge in revenue also allowed BP to sharply reduce its debt to $22.8 billion from $27.5 billion at the end of March.