A small drop in the price of oil in the third quarter hasn’t done much to dent the super-profits being made at energy companies. On Tuesday, London-based BP announced that it made $8.2bn in the three months from July to September.

The company said it would increase dividends by 10% and would spend $2.5bn buying back shares. It joins the list of global oil majors reporting a very strong third-quarter performance.

In the US, Exxon Mobil and Chevron reported combined net income of more than $30bn in the period, leading to a call from President Joe Biden for the companies to stop “war profiteering” and raised the possibility of imposing a windfall tax.

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BP is already facing such a tax in the UK, saying it will pay $800m this year. That tax was introduced by Rishi Sunak when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer.

It seems likely there will be further taxes on energy companies announced in this month’s Autumn Statement as the UK government struggles to balance public finances.