bp has announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2023, underlying replacement cost (RC) profit of $3.3 billion
Those RC profits are down significantly from the same quarter of 2022, which stood at $8.2 billion but were higher than the second quarter result this year of $2.6 billion third-quarter earnings fell short of expectations due to weak gas results, despite strong oil trading and refining margins.
Reported production for gas and low-carbon energy averaged 946,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), while liquids output rose 5% in the last quarter to 1.38 million boepd.
The weakness in the gas trading earnings after two-quarters of exceptional profits were due to a lack of volatility in the market,
“Gas prices were really flat as stocks build up in the U.S. and Europe…trading organizations make money on volatility,” said bp Interim CEO Murray Auchincloss.
“This has been a solid quarter supported by strong underlying operational performance demonstrating our continued focus on delivery,” said Auchincloss.
bp reported an operating cash flow in Q3 2023 of $8.7 billion including a working capital release of $2.0 billion after adjusting for inventory holding gains, fair value accounting effects, and other adjusting items.
“Momentum continues to build across our businesses, with recent start-ups including Tangguh Expansion, bpx energy’s ‘Bingo’ central processing facility, and Archaea Energy’s first modular biogas plant in Indiana. As we laid out at our investor update in Denver, we remain committed to executing our strategy, expect to grow earnings through this decade, and are on track to deliver strong returns for our shareholders,” Auchincloss continued.
In the resilient hydrocarbons segment, BP announced the start-up of the Tangguh Expansion project, adding approximately 3.8 million tons per annum of production capacity. Other notable achievements include the successful launch of the ‘Bingo’ central processing facility in the Permian Basin by bpx energy and the regulatory approval for the Murlach oil and gas development in the North Sea.
In low carbon energy, bp has strengthened its renewables pipeline with the rights awarded to develop two offshore wind projects in Germany, with a total potential generating capacity of 4GW.
Furthermore, the company continued to advance its growth strategy, expanding its EV charging and convenience offerings. This included an agreement with Tesla in October for the future purchase of $100 million worth of ultra-fast chargers in the US and expanding its strategic convenience partnership with Auchan in Poland, with plans to add more than 100 EasyAuchan stores to its retail network by the end of 2025.
The capital expenditure in Q3 2023 was $3.6 billion. bp expects capital expenditure, including inorganic capital expenditure to be around $16 billion in 2023.
Notably, For the third quarter, the company announced a dividend per ordinary share of 7.270 cents where the company intends to execute a further $1.5 billion share buyback prior to reporting fourth-quarter results.
