BP has credited strong natural gas trading for strong quarterly profits of £7.1bn, which have fanned the flames around demands for stiffer windfall taxes.

The oil and gas giant revealed third quarter profits of $8.2bn compared to $3.3bn in the same period a year earlier – boosted by high prices resulting from the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The sum was only slightly down on the 14-year-high profit of $8.5bn achieved between April to June.

BP posted its latest numbers just days after UK-listed rival Shell, which declared the company was ready to face higher taxes on its earnings and had been working constructively with the UK’s Treasury on the issue.

Outgoing CEO Ben van Beurden admitted then it was a “societal reality” that governments will intervene while “a lot of people, particularly the most vulnerable” are struggling with the cost of living.

BP said in its results statement that it expected to pay a windfall tax – imposed in May – of almost $800m on profits from its North Sea operations this year.

Shell, on the other hand, had said it expected to escape a payment in the current quarter because it met the criteria to avoid payments due its spending on new oil and gas projects.

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The UK government is under pressure to go further in the autumn statement later this month, given a big black hole in the public finances.

Friends of the Earth energy campaigner, Sana Yusuf, said of BP’s financial performance: “With the economy sinking, energy bills soaring and the climate crisis deepening, Rishi Sunak must surely act on the excessive profits that fossil fuel firms like BP are raking in.

“The case for a bigger, bolder windfall tax is now over-whelming. This must address the ridiculous loophole that undermines the levy by enabling companies to pay the bare minimum if they invest in more planet-warming gas and oil projects.”

Across the Atlantic, Joe Biden piled further pressure on big oil on Monday.

The US president, whose Democrat party is facing the prospect of a mid-term elections backlash because of surging inflation, accused firms of “war profiteering” and threatened windfall taxes unless they raised domestic production to bring down fuel prices.

Like its other rivals, BP on Tuesday revealed further rewards for shareholders.

The company hiked its dividend by 10% in the quarter and said it would buy back $2.5bn worth of shares.

That built on the $7.6bn in buybacks already revealed this year.

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