British energy giant bp reported a profit of around $3.1 billion in the second quarter of the year, against a loss of nearly $16.8 billion in the same quarter of 2020, according to its financial results statement released Tuesday.
The statement said the profit was the result of 'strong business performance and continued net debt reduction in an improving environment.'
Chief Executive Officer Bernard Looney said the company is making good progress a year into executing its strategy to become an integrated energy company by investing for the future in a disciplined way.
The company also posted growth in profit for the first half of the year to almost $7.8 billion after a loss of $21.2 billion during the same period of last year.
Its revenue for the second quarter of 2021 was around $37.6 billion, up by more than $16.8 billion compared to its revenue for the same quarter of 2020. It also reported $74.1 billion in revenue in the first half of 2021, relative to $51.6 billion in the same period of last year.
The company expects higher product demand during the third quarter as 'COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease.'
The British energy major forecasts that the price of Brent oil will remain around $60 a barrel until 2035 before starting to decline to $45 a barrel in 2050.
- bp sees oil demand recovery in 2021
The company forecasts an oil demand recovery in 2021 on the back of a bright macroeconomic outlook from increasing vaccination roll-outs and gradual lifting of COVID-19 restrictions around the world.
It also anticipates further oil market rebalancing with a fall in global stocks to reach historical levels in the first half of 2022.
'The expectation is that demand reaches pre-COVID levels sometime in the second half of 2022. The OPEC+ decision on production levels is a key factor in oil prices and market rebalancing,' it said.
By Sibel Morrow and Firdevs Yuksel
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr