BP was forced to halve its dividend last year and suffered a record $18.1 billion lossBP has begun buying back $500 million of shares and has told investors that their returns could be back to pre-pandemic levels as soon as next year if oil prices remain above $55 a barrel. With Brent crude rebounding to average $61 a barrel, the oil company swung to a $3.3 billion first-quarter profit, up from a $628 million loss in the same period last year, when prices averaged $50 a barrel. SponsoredThe result, which was better than expected, was aided by “an exceptional gas marketing and trading performance” as its traders capitalised on cold weather in Asia and from Storm Uri in the United States. BP is emerging from a torrid 2020, in which the pandemic triggered a collapse in oil demand and prices,

Source: The Times April 27, 2021 22:52 UTC