LONDON (Alliance News) - Oil major BP PLC on Tuesday said higher oil prices and a positive operating performance led to a doubling in the company's quarterly profit.
For the three months to September, BP's replacement cost profit was USD3.09 billion, more than double the USD1.38 billion it posted the same period a year prior. Compared to the second quarter of 2018, the figure was 73% higher.
On an underlying basis, BP's replacement cost profit was USD3.84 billion, from USD1.87 billion year-on-year and USD2.82 billion in the second quarter.
This USD3.84 billion underlying replacement cost profit figure was its best result in over five years, BP said.
Profit attributable to shareholders came in at USD3.35 billion for the second quarter, around double the USD1.77 billion in the third quarter of 2017 and 20% up quarter-on-quarter.
BP's production was flat year-on-year at 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, but on an underlying basis was 6.8% higher. The underlying figure excludes BP's stake in Russian firm Rosneft and portfolio changes.
FTSE 100 member BP has begun five major Upstream projects so far in 2018, with expansion at the Gulf of Mexico's Thunder Horse and the starting-up of the Western Flank B site in Australia coming in after the third quarter ended.
BP said operating reliability was "very good" during the period, with the highest quarterly refining availability for 15 years.
Looking ahead, BP expects fourth-quarter production to rise on the third quarter, due to the acquisition of BHP Billiton PLC assets in the US. This USD10.5 billion acquisition, announced in July, is expected to complete on Wednesday.
BP Chief Financial Officer Brian Gilvary said Tuesday if oil prices remain at current levels, this deal can be "fully" financed with cash.
The company is paying a 10.25 US cent dividend for the quarter, 2.5% higher year-on-year.
BP's Chief Executive Bob Dudley commented: "Our focus on safe and reliable operations and delivering our strategy is driving strong earnings and growing cash flow.
"Operations are running well across BP, and we're bringing new, higher-margin barrels into production faster through efficient project execution. We have made very good progress with our acquisition from BHP and expect to complete the transaction tomorrow."
He added: "This will transform our position in the US Lower 48 and we expect it to create significant value for BP. This progress all underpins our commitment to growing distributions for our shareholders."