PROFIT MORE THAN doubled at oil giant BP last year as the business benefited from runaway gas prices caused by the war in Ukraine.

The company said that it would invest an additional eight billion dollars (€7.4 billion) each in the energy transition, and in oil and gas, as boss Bernard Looney promised to keep affordable energy flowing.

The business said that underlying replacement cost profit – the figure most followed by analysts – had reached 27.7 billion dollars (€26 billion) last year.

The measure was slightly lower in the last three months of the year compared to previous quarters at 4.8 billion dollars (€4.3 billion).

BP said that the result had been affected by its gas marketing division, which saw below average results after an exceptional third quarter.

The massive profit is set to put BP at the centre of another political battle. Last week Shell reported its highest profit in history, sparking calls for an additional windfall tax.

The London-listed oil major told investors that adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) leapt 53% against the previous year, after energy prices were catapulted higher following the Russian invasion.

Adjusted earnings, including taxes, more than doubled to 39.9 billion dollars (€36 billion).

The figures are part of a debut set of results for Wael Sawan, who took over as chief executive at the start of the year.

Shell added that core profits hit 20.6 billion dollars (€18.5 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2022, although this represented a 4% decrease on the same period in 2021.