Higher gas and oil prices lent a boost to BP (LON:BP) profits in the first quarter of the year, sending shares up at market open on Tuesday.
Profits at the firm rose 71 percent on an underlying replacement cost basis, hitting $2.6 billion for the three months to the end of March. BP production rose 5.7 percent in the quarter to 3.7 million barrels per day, with operating cash flow up to $5.4 billion.
BP’s upstream earnings from exploration and production totalled $3.16 billion on an underlying replacement cost basis in the first quarter, their strongest quarterly figures since 2014. However the group doesn’t expect the same performance in the second quarter, with upstream production set to be lower than the first quarter due to the expiration of the Abu Dhabi offshore concession.
“Our safe and reliable operations and strong financial delivery have continued into 2018. Underlying profit was up 23 percent on the previous quarter and was our best quarterly result in three years. With rising output from our new major projects and excellent reliability, Upstream production was 9 percent higher than a year earlier,’ Bob Dudley, the group’s chief executive, commented.
Shares in BP are currently trading up 1.36 percent at 545.30 (0813GMT).
