Repsol’s profit doubles on high oil and gas prices

Spain’s Repsol posted a first-quarter profit upswing on Thursday, bolstered by higher oil and gas prices and recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Commodities prices soared after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, sending further shockwaves through markets already reeling from last year’s collision between tight supplies and high demand in economies reopening after coronavirus lockdowns.

Adjusted net profit came in at 1.06 billion euros ($1.11 billion), compared with 471 million euros in the first quarter of 2021 when the coronavirus pandemic was still crimping demand. Analysts polled by the company had returned an average forecast of 1 billion euros.

Repsol said that 69 percent of the profit came from the exploration and production business that runs all its activities outside Spain.

Major European energy companies including BP and TotalEnergies are investing in low-carbon technology to meet regulatory and shareholder demands to reduce their contribution to planet-warming carbon emissions.

For its part, Repsol has started building an advanced biofuels plant in Spain and plans to use its experience working with hydrogen gas to develop the renewably produced version that the European Union hopes will help to cut greenhouse gas emissions from heavy industry.

It has embarked on a long process to seek an investor to take a stake in its newly created low-carbon generation unit, but many potential buyers have been put off by the terms on offer, sources have told Reuters.