BP more than doubled its profit for the second quarter from a year earlier on the back of higher oil and gas prices and stronger refining margins driven by the shock supply disruption in the Middle East.
BP on Tuesday reported an underlying replacement cost (RC) profit, the closest metric to net profit closely watched by analysts, of $5.7 billion for the second quarter, up from $3.2 billion for the previous quarter, and more than doubled from the $2.35 billion for the same period of 2025.
The Q2 earnings beat the average analyst consensus of $5 billion.
The jump in oil and gas prices, combined with significantly higher refining margins and stronger oil and gas trading profits from a year earlier, boosted BP’s underlying earnings above analyst expectations.
The surge in the underlying result mainly reflected higher liquids and gas realizations, including the impact of price lags, stronger realized refining margins, and stronger customer results, partly offset by higher exploration write-offs, BP said.
Moreover, “The oil trading contribution for the second quarter and first half was significantly higher compared with the same periods in 2025,” BP said.
The UK-based supermajor, like its European peers Shell and TotalEnergies, benefited from the higher oil prices, the spike in refining margins, and the bumper trading profits from extreme market volatility.
Last week, Shell also reported more than doubled second-quarter earnings from a year earlier, as higher oil and gas prices, record refinery utilization, and strong trading boosted profits to above analyst expectations.
Other European majors, including Eni, TotalEnergies and Equinor, also saw their profits jump from a year earlier as oil and gas prices surged during the Middle East crisis and delivered windfall earnings to the biggest energy firms.
For BP, the earnings jump comes at a crucial moment for the company as CEO Meg O’Neill looks to simplify the business to focus on the most profitable assets in a bid to create shareholder value and show investors that BP’s stock can be attractive again.
“We need to take a clear look at ourselves: assessing what needs to change, stopping what holds us back and building strength where it matters. We have to get fit to grow,” O’Neill said in the earnings release.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
