Energy giant BP has reported that its annual profits have more than doubled in 2022, as the wholesale commodity prices rose sharply in the past year following Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine. The oil and gas firm announced that it had raked in profits of $27.7billion (£22.9billion) in 2022, a major leap from the $12.8billion earned the year before.BP reported that in just the last quarter of 2022, the company made £4.8billion, pushing their annual profits to a record £22.9billion for the year and a 116 percentage jump over 2021 profits. According to the NGO Global Witness, BP’s record profits from today could pay this year’s energy bills for a full third of all UK households.
While Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine resulted in record profits for energy-producing companies like Shell and BP, households have been grappling with soaring energy costs.
Since October this year, households across the UK have been paying an average of £2,500 per year on their energy bills, which similarly is now more than twice the figure it was a year ago.
While wholesale oil and gas prices had begun rising in late 2021 following the post-pandemic recovery boom, however, Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine sent those commodity prices through the roof.
The main reason for this spike is that Russia was one of the world’s largest fossil fuel exporters, and supply of Russian oil and gas become uncertain as the EU looked to divest away from it, while Moscow began squeezing supplies.
For households in the UK, this fossil fuel energy crisis has meant unprecedented fuel poverty levels, as families struggle to pay for their heating bill and in some cases are forced to choose between heating and eating.
With the Government set to raise household energy bills to £3,000 by April, the number in fuel poverty will increase from 4.5 million last October, according to National Energy Action.
It said that would include 1.8 million carers, 5.9 million low-income and financially vulnerable households and 3.6 million disabled people. A home is considered to be in fuel poverty if households need to spend 10 per cent or more of their income on energy to properly heat their property.
Jonathan Noronha-Gant, Global Witness, Senior Campaigner, said: “People across the country need look no further than their own front door – one of Britain’s own oil companies – which has been making records profit while so many Brits face hardship through no fault of their own. It would be good to see BP genuinely backing Britain rather than profiting off it.”
READ MORE: Energy giant’s staggering profits unveiled as oil prices soar
“Implementing a windfall tax to aid those struggling financially, paired with a significant increase in renewable energy and home insulation, could be the start of the end to the damaging fossil fuel era, both for people and the planet. BP is richer because you’re poorer.”
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