Energy giant BP has reported a sharp drop in profits after oil prices fell last year.
BP’s 2023 profits fell to $13.8bn, down from a record $27.7bn, due to increased oil and gas prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Despite falling household energy bills since 2022, they remain high. The fall in profits mirrors rival Shell’s results, which posted profits of $28.2bn in 2022.
BP plans to return $1.75bn to investors in the first three months of 2022 through share buybacks, and commit to $3.5bn over the first half of 2024. The company expects higher oil production and operations, but lower gas and low carbon energy production. BP faced criticism from environmental groups for scaling back its oil and gas production targets. Gas and electricity prices climbed after Covid lockdowns ended, but remain below $80.