LONDON: BP reported on Tuesday a profit of $12.8 billion in 2021, the highest in eight years, as natural gas and oil prices soared and the global economy recovered from the pandemic slump.

       BP's underlying replacement cost profit, the company's definition of net earnings, reached $4.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021, exceeding analysts' expectations for a $3.93 billion profit.

       That compares with $3.32 billion in profit in the third quarter and $115 million a year earlier.

       For the year, BP reported a profit of $12.85 billion, compared with a loss of $5.7 billion in 2020, which came after BP wrote off the value of its oil and gas assets by $6.5 billion amid a slump in energy demand due to the pandemic. - Reuters