BP profits hit 18-year high despite $4bn net zero loss

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day, reviewed by our editorial team. Read the full piece on The Telegraph or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: BP has reported its highest quarterly underlying profit in 18 years, reaching $8.5 billion in the third quarter of 2026, despite a $4 billion impairment linked to its renewable and low-carbon investments
• Surging oil prices and refining margins, driven by disruptions from conflicts in Iran and Ukraine, boosted earnings well beyond analysts' expectations

🔭 The context: BP's underlying profit quadrupled, exceeding forecasts of $7.3 billion
• Brent crude climbed from approximately $73 to $117 per barrel following the Iran conflict, while refining margins reached $46.70 per barrel, nearly three times their level a year earlier
• Under new CEO Meg O'Neill, BP is accelerating its strategic shift towards oil and gas, restructuring operations and divesting renewable assets
• The company is also preparing to sell its North Sea operations, citing the UK's high taxation on oil and gas profits

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: BP's earnings surge illustrates how geopolitical instability and fossil fuel supply disruptions can reinforce the profitability of oil and gas, even as energy companies face losses from low-carbon investments
• The retreat from renewable assets raises questions about the pace of corporate energy-transition commitments and the capital available for decarbonisation

⏭️ What’s next: BP is continuing its portfolio restructuring, with final bids for its North Sea assets due in early December
• Its future investment strategy will increasingly focus on oil and gas production, refining and shareholder returns, while policymakers face renewed pressure over taxation and energy security

💬 One quote: “We know we need to be better stewards of our shareholders’ capital,” - BP chief executive Meg O'Neill, acknowledging the company's green investment losses

📈 One stat: $8.5 billion: BP's underlying profit in the third quarter of 2026, its highest quarterly result in 18 years

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