Among its peers, bp reported the biggest annual decline in profits (c.-70%). Across the business segments, refining and products suffered the most with low margins and prolonged costly maintenance, and weaker oil trading. Despite the negative surplus due to a 46% drop in operating cash flow, bp committed to returning $1.5bn in buybacks in Q3 and announced a 10% increase in the quarterly dividend. Disclosure in the energy transition businesses as of the next quarter is a welcome development.
