BPs Follows Bumper 4Q21 Profit Trend

British supermajor BP reported $12.8 billion in profits, an eight-year record for the British oil company. The spike was largely driven by the oil production and operations segments accounting for $10.5 billion in profits before interest and tax.

The news comes after Anglo-Dutch major Shell also set an eight-year record on 4Q21 profits on the back of higher oil and gas prices. US-based Exxon Mobil set a seven-year profit record for the same quarter.

The news of high profits comes as consumers face spikes in energy costs with US consumers seeing a 49.6% year-over-year rise in gasoline prices and a 24.1% rise in piped gas services, according to December’s Consumer Price Index from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.   

In its guidance BP foresees volatile oil prices through 2022 due to lower levels of spare capacities though supply and demand are expected to move into balance. The company foresees a major role for OPEC+ in this process.