Oil prices turn lower as Bessent says U.S. may have Iran deal "today or tomorrow"

Investing.com-- BP PLC (LON:BP) posted a stronger-than-expected jump in its second-quarter profit on Tuesday, aided chiefly by robust oil prices stemming from supply disruptions in the Middle East.

The oil and gas giant also said it had launched processes for the potential sale of its Archaea Energy biogas business, amid a broader pivot out of renewables.

BP’s adjusted net profit for the three months to June 30 jumped over 100% year-on-year to $5.73 billion, beating Bloomberg estimates of $5.01 billion.

The company’s shares rose about 1% in London trading by 08:09 GMT.

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The bumper profit was driven chiefly by the company realizing higher prices on oil and gas sales, as global prices increased due to supply constraints in the Middle East.

BP also clocked improving earnings from its gas and low -carbon units, although the company is steadily toning down its renewables operations.

Profit attributable to shareholders was $3.91 billion in Q2, up from $1.63 billion a year ago.

BP declared a Q2 dividend of 8.66 cent a share, up 4% from a year ago.

BP CEO Meg O’Neill said the company intends to sell its U.S.-based Archaea biogas business, amid a continued trimming of its overall operations. The company had recently sold its Gelsenkirchen refinery, its Austria retail business, and also announced a sale process for its North Sea unit.

Commenting on the report, Jefferies analysts led by Mark Wilson highlighted "strong results and strong statement" from O’Neill of where BP "must improve."

The oil and gas major had purchased Archaea in 2022 for $4.1 billion as part of an aggressive push into renewables. But the company abruptly abandoned its renewables push in 2025 after a series of high-profile impairments and hurdles in its renewables ambitions.

BP has steadily trimmed several overseas, non-core operations over the past year to shift focus back to its core oil and gas business.

The company, along with its oil and gas peers, clocked a major windfall this year thanks to surging commodity prices stemming from the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.

The conflict essentially shut down a bulk of oil and gas flows from the Middle East, tightening global supplies and ramping up prices.

Vahid Karaahmetovic contributed to this report.

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