ENERGY giants are treating shareholders to a “cash bonanza” while households struggle to make ends meet, union leaders said today after BP reported profits of £2 billion.

The company said it made around $2.59bn in underlying replacement cost profit over the three months to the end of June, taking total profits for the year so far to $7.5bn (£5.9bn)

This is more than two-thirds less than last year’s results, but it still sparked criticism from trade unions, campaigners and opposition parties over the government’s failure to act.

Ministers have imposed a windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas profits but left a loophole allowing companies to reduce what they have to pay by offsetting the cost of new investments.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said the government had chosen to “leave billions on the table” by not imposing a proper levy.

“While households struggle to make ends meet, energy giants are delivering a cash bonanza to shareholders,” he said.

“We need a fairer approach that stops energy companies treating working families like cash machines.

“We could have lower household bills and an energy system that served the public if the government taxed excessive profits and introduced new clean power under public ownership.”  

Tessa Khan, executive director of campaign group Uplift, said the BP announcement was “like deja vu” and hit out at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for “cosying up to these profiteering oil giants.”

She said: “Waiting for the oil and gas companies to invest in renewables is a fool’s game.

“We need a government that will stand up to companies like BP, impose a proper windfall tax on their profits without massive loopholes and then shift the UK away from expensive oil and gas.”

Shadow climate and net zero secretary Ed Miliband called on Mr Sunak to start by “fixing the gaping loophole in the windfall tax, instead of handing oil and gas producers billions of taxpayer subsidy.”

Scottish Greens climate spokesperson Mark Ruskell said: “A windfall tax full of loopholes is not good enough.

“We urgently need major investment in renewables and a just transition away from dirty and polluting industries.”

Mr Sunak said that he understood people would be “frustrated” by the profits but added that the windfall tax was being used to help consumers pay their energy bills.