Speaking to Bloomberg, BP’s Chief Financial Officer, Murray Auchinclos, said his company had paid about $300 million under the UK’s windfall tax, which is formally known as the Energy Profits Levy (EPL), in the first quarter of this year. The EPL places an additional 35% tax on UK oil and gas production while prices remain elevated.
According to Bloomberg, this means that about $1 billion has been paid by BP under the EPL so far. BP says that after excluding adjustment items, it paid an underlying effective tax rate of 39% in the quarter, compared with a rate of 33% in the same quarter last year. Nevertheless, it was a strong quarter for BP with earnings being higher than expected at $5 billion, which it attributes to particularly strong oil and gas trading.
In a statement about the quarterly results, BP CEO Bernard Looney said that the company had continued to focus on reliable, safe operations through a strong performing quarter, adding:
“Momentum continues to build across our integrated energy company strategy, with the start-up of Mad Dog Phase 2, our agreement to acquire TravelCenters of America and progress towards hydrogen and CCS projects in the UK. And importantly we continue to deliver for shareholders, through disciplined investment, lowering net debt and growing distributions.”
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