LONDON: BP almost trebled its annual net profit to $9.4 billion (€8.2 billion) last year as oil prices soared in 2018, the British energy giant announced Tuesday.
Profit after tax rocketed from $3.4 billion in 2017, “primarily affected by higher oil prices and favorable foreign exchange” rates, BP said in a statement.
Fourth-quarter net profit stood at $766 million, up from $27 million in the final three months of 2017.
However, it was well down on 2018 third-quarter net profit of $3.35 billion, which was fueled by surging oil prices before they cooled approaching the new year.
BP chief executive Bob Dudley said the group was benefitting also from “capital discipline.”
“And we’re doing this while growing the business — bringing more high-quality projects online, expanding marketing in the downstream and doing transformative deals such as BHP,” he added in the statement.
In 2018, the world’s biggest miner BHP sold its US shale oil and gas operations to BP for $10.5 billion.
Oil prices meanwhile surged in the latter part of 2018 on tight supply concerns but have since fallen back sharply, in line with volatility seen across financial markets.
BP on Tuesday added that its full-year production of oil and gas grew 2.4 percent to 3.7 million barrels per day.
It said that 2019 output was expected to be higher thanks to major production projects.
“The actual reported outcome will depend on the exact timing of project start-ups, acquisition and divestment activities, OPEC quotas and entitlement impacts in our production-sharing agreements,” BP said.
Also last year, BP took a further hit of $3.2 billion in financial costs linked to a deadly explosion on a BP-leased drilling rig in 2010 that unleashed the worst environmental disaster in US history.
It expects a further charge of $2.0 billion this year, taking BP’s total bill so far for the Gulf of Mexico catastrophe to around $70 billion.
“Numbers from BP paint a picture of a company operating above expectations across all of its businesses,” noted Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
“The decline in oil prices in the fourth quarter, from four-year peaks of $85 a barrel saw profits decline slightly from the lofty levels” in the previous quarter, he added.
BP rival Royal Dutch Shell last week posted an 80 percent increase in annual net profit to $23.4 billion on higher oil prices and big cost cutting.
“Global oil majors are performing strongly at present, but these numbers from BP are superlative,” said Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.
“The Gulf of Mexico spill surprisingly still gets a mention ... although the figure is beginning at last to dwindle.”
BP annual profit soars to $9.4bn on surging oil prices
BP annual profit soars to $9.4bn on surging oil prices
- Profit after tax rocketed from $3.4 billion in 2017
- Fourth-quarter net profit stood at $766 million
Saudi Arabia, Japan trade rises 38% between 2016 and 2024, minister says
RIYADH: Trade between Saudi Arabia and Japan has increased by 38 percent between 2016 and 2024 to reach SR138 billion ($36 billion), the Kingdom’s investment minister revealed.
Speaking at the Saudi-Japanese Ministerial Investment Forum 2026, Khalid Al-Falih explained that this makes the Asian country the Kingdom’s third-largest trading partner, according to Asharq Bloomberg.
This falls in line with the fact that Saudi Arabia has been a very important country for Japan from the viewpoint of its energy security, having been a stable supplier of crude oil for many years.
It also aligns well with how Japan is fully committed to supporting Vision 2030 by sharing its knowledge and advanced technologies.
“This trade is dominated by the Kingdom's exports of energy products, specifically oil, gas, and their derivatives. We certainly look forward to the Saudi private sector increasing trade with Japan, particularly in high-tech Japanese products,” Al-Falih said.
He added: “As for investment, Japanese investment in the Kingdom is good and strong, but we look forward to raising the level of Japanese investments in the Kingdom. Today, the Kingdom offers promising opportunities for Japanese companies in several fields, including the traditional sector that links the two economies: energy.”
The minister went on to note that additional sectors that both countries can also collaborate in include green and blue hydrogen, investments in advanced industries, health, food security, innovation, entrepreneurship, among others.
During his speech, Al-Falih shed light on how the Kingdom’s pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka achieved remarkable success, with the exhibition receiving more than 3 million visitors, reflecting the Japanese public’s interest in Saudi Arabia.
“The pavilion also organized approximately 700 new business events, several each day, including 88 major investment events led by the Ministry of Investment. Today, as we prepare for the upcoming Expo 2030, we look forward to building upon Japan’s achievements,” he said.
The minister added: “During our visit to Japan, we agreed to establish a partnership to transfer the remarkable Japanese experience from Expo Osaka 2025 to Expo Riyadh 2030. I am certain that the Japanese pavilion at Expo Riyadh will rival the Saudi pavilion at Expo Osaka in terms of organization, innovation, and visitor turnout.”
Al-Falih also shed light on how Saudi-Japanese relations celebrated their 70th anniversary last year, and today marks the 71st year of these relations as well as how they have flourished over the decades, moving from one strategic level to an even higher one.
