CALLS have been made for tougher windfall taxes after oil and gas giant BP confirmed its profits more than doubled to £7bn in the past three months.

It comes less than a week after Shell said it was boosting divdends to shareholders after seeing profits double between July and September $9.5bn (£8.2bn).

BP beat made  $8.15bn over the same period, double the profit over the same quarter last year -  thanks to a jump in energy prices caused by the Ukraine war,

BP confirmed it will be hit by the current windfall tax on its UK operations this year, unlike rival Shell.

It told shareholders it will pay out $2.5 (£2.2 billion) in taxes for its UK North Sea business in 2022, including $800 (£695 million) of tax related to the energy profits levy.

Nevertheless, BP said profits were weaker than the previous quarter after a dip in the average oil price.

A months-long energy crisis led to then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak announcing a £15bn package of support for households struggling with the cost of living crisis, part-funded by a £5bn windfall tax on energy companies operating in the North Sea.

A windfall tax - called the Energy Profits Levy - was introduced by Rishi Sunak when he was chancellor in May and was expected to raise £5bn in its first year.

But there has been growing pressure for there to be a greater windfall tax on energy firms to pay for a subsequent UK energy price freeze, brought in by former Prime Minister Liz Truss.

The new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt reined in the £2,500 average dual fuel energy price cap from two years to end at in April for a review. But there is no indication that the new Rishi Sunak government will break from Liz Truss's insistance that it will not be funded by a windfall tax on energy firms.

Energy company profits have been sustained by a spike in wholesale gas prices, which have driven up bills for households and customers.’ The Scottish Greens energy and environment spokesman Mark Ruskell, said described the profits of the energy giants as "utterly obscene" while the " planet is suffering" along with "millions of households across the UK and beyond".

“Companies like BP are paying lip service to renewables while taking us ever closer to environmental breakdown. They aren’t doing it alone. They are being supported by a UK Government that is in the process of granting even more oil and gas exploration licences while the world burns.

“It is the worst kind of climate vandalism. We can’t go on like this. The more fossil fuels we burn now the greater the action that we will need to take if we are to have a sustainable future."

He added: "We need to fundamentally change our energy system so that it works for people and the planet.

"One way that we can help to fund this is via a proper and meaningful windfall tax that can be reinvested in the green technology that is so badly needed. That would help to accelerate our pathway towards a just transition to renewables.

"Every day that is spent doing anything else is another day that has been wasted.”

Shell last week said it planned to increase its dividend per share by around 15% for the fourth quarter 2022, to be paid out in March 2023, subject to board approval. It takes the total payout to Shell shareholders to $26bn (£22.4bn) so far this year.

In June, the cost of a barrel of Brent crude oil hovered at around 114 dollars per barrel, but since early July the measure has rarely risen above $100.

On Tuesday, a barrel of crude would set a buyer back around $94 dollars (£81).

Energy prices are, however, still at elevated levels following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and therefore set to weigh heavily on household budgets over winter.

Bernard Looney, BP’s chief executive officer, said the company is continuing to “perform while transforming”.

The Herald: Bernard Looney, BP chief executive.

"We remain focused on helping to solve the energy trilemma - secure, affordable and lower carbon energy. We are providing the oil and gas the world needs today - while at the same time - investing to accelerate the energy transition."

Shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband said: “Today’s profits at BP are damning evidence of the failure of the Government to levy a proper windfall tax.

“Rishi Sunak should be hanging his head in shame that he has left billions of windfall profits in the pockets of oil and gas companies, while the British people face a cost-of-living crisis.”

Dr George Dibb, head of the Centre for Economic Justice at the IPPR think tank, added: “Companies like BP are making huge profits and channelling these straight back to already-wealthy shareholders through share buyback schemes.

“Instead of reducing costs for consumers or investing in renewable energy, these fossil fuel giants are prioritising transfers to shareholders.”