Ойрхи Дорнод дахь зэвсэгт мөргөлдөөний улмаас газрын тос, байгалийн хийн үнэ өссөн нь эрчим хүчний томоохон корпорац BP-ийн ашгийг сүүлийн хоёр арван жилд байгаагүй өндөр түвшинд хүргэлээ.
Баасан гарагт нийтэлсэн тайлангаар тус компанийн орлого өнгөрсөн оны мөн үеийн 2.2 тэрбум ам.доллароос бараг дөрөв дахин нэмэгдэж, 8.46 тэрбум ам.долларт хүрсэн байна. Энэхүү үзүүлэлт нь шинжээчдийн таамаглаж байсан 7.3 тэрбум ам.доллароос давсан байна. Компанийн удирдлагын зүгээс үүнийг газрын тос боловсруулах салбарын өндөр ашигт ажиллагаа болон зах зээлийн нөхцөл байдлыг оновчтой ашигласантай холбон тайлбарлав.
Дэлхийн зах зээл дээр газрын тосны үнэ 2022 оны эрчим хүчний хямралын үеийн оргил үеэс доогуур байгаа хэдий ч Персийн булан болон ОХУ дахь газрын тос боловсруулах үйлдвэрүүдийн үйл ажиллагаа доголдож, нийлүүлэлтийн сүлжээ тасалдсан нь дизель түлш болон шатахууны үнийг Их Британи, Европ, АНУ-д түүхэн дээд хэмжээнд хүргээд байна. BP-ийн гүйцэтгэх захирал Мэг О’Нил эрчим хүчний салбар нийлүүлэлтийн хомсдолыг нөхөх, тээвэрлэлтийн урт маршрутуудад дасан зохицох чиглэлээр “гайхалтай уян хатан чадвар” үзүүлж байгааг онцлов.
Энэхүү ашгийн огцом өсөлт нь уур амьсгалын өөрчлөлтийн эсрэг тэмцэгчдийн зүгээс ихээхэн шүүмжлэл дагууллаа. “Global Witness” болон “Friends of the Earth” байгууллагын төлөөлөгчид энгийн иргэд амьжиргааны өртгийн өсөлт болон өвлийн дулаалгын асуудалтай тулгарч байхад эрчим хүчний компаниуд дайны нөхцөл байдлыг ашиглан хэт их ашиг олж байгааг “ёс зүйгүй” хэмээн буруушаав.
BP компани илүүдэл орлогоосоо 2010 онд тохиолдсон “Deepwater Horizon” газрын тос асгарсан ослын улмаас үүссэн хариуцлагыг бүрэн барагдуулахад зарцуулахаа мэдэгдлээ. Үүний хүрээнд Луизиана муж улсад 350 сая ам.долларын нөхөн төлбөр олгох хэлэлцээрийг өнгөрсөн долоо хоногт эцэслэн баталсан байна. Арванхоёрдугаар сарын 15-нд болох стратегийн шинэчлэлийн хурлаар тус компани газрын тос, байгалийн хийн олборлолтыг нэмэгдүүлэх болон хувьцааг эргүүлэн худалдаж авах төлөвлөгөөгөө танилцуулахаар хүлээгдэж байна.
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BP’s profits have hit their highest level in almost two decades, as the war in the Middle East drove up oil and gas prices and led to “significantly higher” trading.
The energy company hailed a “banner quarter” on Friday, with its underlying replacement cost profit – a key measure of its income – almost quadrupling to $8.46bn (£6.3bn), up from $2.2bn a year ago.
The jump in profits – which immediately angered climate campaigners – was well above the $7.3bn analysts had expected.
BP’s chief executive, Meg O’Neill, told Bloomberg TV: “It really was a banner quarter for the refining business.
“We had very strong margins from the BP-operated refineries, we also had very strong underlying performance. We were able to capture the opportunity provided by the market.”
BP’s quarterly earnings were bolstered by higher profits from the oil refining business as the difference between the cost of crude oil and the price of refined fuels such as diesel and gasoline soared, earning almost $47 for each barrel of fuel produced.
Although global oil prices have remained below the peaks recorded during the 2022 energy crisis, the pump prices for fuels including diesel have soared to all-time highs across the UK, Europe and the US in recent months because of severe disruptions to refineries in the Gulf region and across Russia.
O’Neill added that the oil and gas industry had shown “remarkable adaptability”.
She said: “Refineries have been running close to capacity to make up for shortfalls, shipping has been taking different and longer routes, and releases from strategic and commercial reserves are helping to bridge supply gaps.”
The jump meant BP’s quarterly profits hit their highest level since the $8.9bn recorded in 2008.
Jonathan Noronha-Gant of the campaign group Global Witness said it was “obscene that polluters are continuing to cash in on the fallout of the war in Iran, making more bumper profits from spiralling oil prices while innocent civilians suffer.
“These massive profits come as ordinary people across Europe are struggling with the rising cost of living, with many struggling to afford to heat their homes as winter arrives,” he said.
Danny Gross of Friends of the Earth said: “As millions of households brace themselves for a cold winter huddling under blankets and clutching hot-water bottles as they struggle to pay their bills, BP is raking in huge profits while doubling down on gas and oil production and slashing investment in renewables.”
BP laid bare its earnings windfall after Shell and the French oil rival TotalEnergies reported their strongest profits since 2022, also in large part thanks to the profits made from refining crude into fuel products such as diesel.
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The US-Israeli war on Iran has boosted profits for oil majors, leading to questions over how they will allocate the extra cash. BP said on Friday it would use the excess cashflow generated by earnings to address remaining liabilities in full from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010.
Last week, BP announced a deal that provided the state of Louisiana with an accelerated, lump-sum $350m payment to resolve claims linked to the spill and that also settled long-running coastal damage litigation by local parishes.
BP is expected to set out its first major strategy update under O’Neill on 15 December, which market observers expect will outline the company’s plans to grow its oil and gas production and potentially restart share buybacks from next year.
Part of BP’s reorganisation has included plans to sell off its UK oil and gas assets in the North Sea in a deal that could be worth between £2bn and £2.5bn. O’Neill said in August that there had already been strong interest in BP’s five major production hubs, including the Andrew and ETAP fields in the central North Sea, plus the Glen Lyon, Clair, and Clair Ridge fields located in the west of the Shetland area.
North Sea companies such as Neo Next+, Ithaca Energy and Adura – the joint venture behind the Jackdaw and Rosebank fossil fuel developments – have all been named as potential suitors in a deal.
Last month, BP appointed a new chair – Ian Tyler – after a months-long search triggered by the controversial ousting of Albert Manifold, seeking to draw a line under years of boardroom turmoil at the UK oil and gas company.
