BP ( NYSE: BP ) is resuming share buybacks this quarter after more than tripling its first-quarter earnings from a year ago on the back of rising oil prices and “exceptional gas marketing and trading performance,” the UK-based supermajor said on Tuesday. BP kicked off today Big Oil’s Q1 earnings season, reporting underlying replacement cost profit—its proxy for net profit—of $2.63 billion, up from $791 million for the first quarter of last year and from just $115 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. “This result was driven by an exceptional gas marketing and trading performance, significantly higher oil prices and higher refining margins,” BP said in a statement. Operating cash flow at BP jumped to $6.1 billion for Q1 2021 from $2.27 billion for Q4 and $952 million for the first quarter of 2020. The market is largely expecting the major oil companies to report strong earnings and […]