BP more than doubled its second-quarter profit compared to a year earlier, driven by higher oil and gas prices and stronger refining margins fueled by supply disruptions in the Middle East.

On Tuesday, BP reported an underlying replacement cost (RC) profit — the metric closest to net income and closely tracked by analysts — of $5.7 billion for the second quarter. That figure was up from $3.2 billion in the prior quarter and more than double the $2.35 billion recorded in the same period of 2025. The result surpassed the average analyst consensus estimate of $5 billion, with the $700 million beat underscoring the strength of the trading and refining environment during the quarter.

The surge in earnings was attributed to a combination of rising oil and gas prices, significantly higher refining margins, and stronger oil and gas trading profits compared to the prior year. According to BP, the increase in underlying results primarily reflected higher liquids and gas realizations — including the impact of price lags — stronger realized refining margins, and improved customer results. These gains were partly offset by higher exploration write-offs.

BP also noted that its oil trading contribution for the second quarter and the first half of the year was significantly higher compared with the same periods in 2025, as extreme market volatility created wider arbitrage opportunities for the supermajor's trading desks.

The UK-based supermajor, alongside European peers Shell and TotalEnergies, benefited from elevated oil prices, a spike in refining margins, and outsized trading profits generated by extreme market volatility. The breadth of earnings increases across the sector — spanning UK, French, Italian, and Norwegian operators — points to industry-wide conditions rather than company-specific factors.

The previous week, Shell also reported more than doubled second-quarter earnings year over year, as higher oil and gas prices, record refinery utilization, and robust trading activity lifted profits above analyst expectations.

Other European majors, including Eni, TotalEnergies, and Equinor, similarly posted sharp year-over-year profit increases as oil and gas prices surged during the Middle East crisis, delivering windfall earnings to the world's largest energy companies.

For BP, the earnings jump arrives at a pivotal moment for the company. CEO Meg O'Neill is pursuing efforts to simplify the business and concentrate on the most profitable assets, aiming to create shareholder value and demonstrate that BP's stock can regain its appeal to investors. The strong quarterly result gives O'Neill additional latitude to reshape the portfolio, though sustained geopolitical volatility — not structural cost improvements — was the primary driver of the profit surge.

"We need to take a clear look at ourselves: assessing what needs to change, stopping what holds us back and building strength where it matters. We have to get fit to grow," O'Neill said in the earnings release.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com. BP's full second-quarter 2026 results are available on the company's website.