TAKING THE BLOODY PISS
OIL GIANT’S RECORD PROFITS (AGAIN) AS BRITS SUFFER...
WHILE Brits struggle to make ends meet, the oil giants are making record profits… AGAIN!
BP has reported a huge profit for July to September due to high oil and gas prices exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The oil giant made £7.1bn for the period, almost THREE TIMES the profit over the same three months last year.
BP said it will pay £693m in windfall tax this year, a levy on profits made from extracting UK oil and gas.
Oil firms’ big profits are expected to lead to renewed calls for this windfall tax on energy firms to be increased.
The windfall tax was introduced by Rishi Sunak when he was Chancellor.
At the time, Mr Sunak said the levy, which they have called an Energy Profits Levy, would raise £5billion in its first year.
Alok Sharma, UK’s COP president, tweeted: “We need to raise more money from a windfall tax on oil and gas companies and encourage them to invest in renewables.”
Treasury sources have indicated an extension to the windfall tax is being discussed ahead of the Autumn Statement on November 17, which will detail plans for tax rises and spending cuts as the Government tries to fill a “black hole” in public finances.
That could include an increase in the rate oil and energy companies have to pay on extraordinary profits, extending the timeframe it applies for, or expanding it to include electricity generators.
The Treasury has warned that everyone will need to pay more tax “in the years ahead” as new PM Mr Sunak attempts to fill a “black hole” in public finances.
Last week, BP’s rival Shell revealed that it had paid no windfall tax in the UK because it had invested millions of pounds. But it said it expected to start paying the levy next year.
While BP is set to pay some windfall tax, it will also give its shareholders a boost by increasing its dividend payment by 10%, and will also spend £2.2bn buying back shares.
Oil and gas prices, which began increasing once COVID restrictions eased, accelerated after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, resulting in huge profits for energy firms.
But they’ve also exacerbated price rises for consumers.
All the big oil firms, including Total and Exxon Mobil, have announced bumper profits in the past week. Overnight, oil giant Saudi Aramco said it had made a profit of £36.7bn over just three months thanks to higher commodity prices.
US President Joe Biden has urged major oil firms bringing in big profits to stop “war profiteering”, threatening to hit them with higher taxes if they don’t increase production which would help lower price.