Proactive Investors - Calls for a further increase in the windfall tax on North Sea profits will almost certainly grow louder next week when BP PLC (LSE:LON:BP.) reports its full-year numbers.
Shell (LON:RDSa) has already announced the largest profit in its 115-year history and BP is unlikely to be too far behind.
Third quarter profits were an eye-catching US$8.2bn with the running nine-month total at US$22.8bn.
Consensus forecasts are for BP to nearly double underlying its replacement cost profit to $27.8bn for the full year, against $14.5bn in 2021.
Analysts point out that BP will likely announce a tax bill of US$9.8bn, its largest since 2008 which will include its share of the current energy profits levy or windfall tax.
Expect that to be overlooked, though, as BP is also being tipped to announce hefty dividends and a further US$3bn share buyback on top of more than US$10bn already announced in 2022.
One analyst expects up to a further US$11bn to be pencilled for coming years in next week’s statement.
Bernard Looney, BP's chief executive, has made much of its pivot towards greener technologies and this theme is likely to feature again in the results statement especially given the scale of profits coming from upstream oil and gas.
Shell has made similar noises but its capital expenditure on renewable/green projects was only 14% last year and it will be enlightening to see if BP’s spending can mirror its chief executive’s rhetoric more closely.