BP profit renews windfall tax plea

LONDON — BP posted its highest quarterly profit in more than a decade thanks to surging oil and gas prices, renewing calls for a U.K. government tax on energy companies’ windfall earnings to help households struggling with rising energy bills.

The British energy giant said Tuesday that underlying replacement cost profit — the industry standard measure — more than doubled in the first three months of the year, to $6.2 billion from $2.6 billion in the same period last year.

After accounting for a write-off of its nearly 20% stake in Russian oil producer Rosneft, BP PLC said its net loss in the first quarter totaled $23 billion.

The company said it would buy back another $2.5 billion in shares.