BP will step up its share buyback programme with the revenues from divestments over the next year, according to its second quarter results.
The oil major is roughly a third of the way through its divestment plan, having sold $3.4bn worth of assets out of $10bn agreed by the end of 2015. In mid-July, it completed an $8bn share buyback programme.
Further post-tax proceeds will be used for shareholder distributions including share buybacks, it said.
It also saw profits grow by a third, with underlying replacement cost profit for the quarter of $3.6bn, compared to $2.7bn for the same period last year. Profits climbed 13% on the first quarter.
But any potential sanctions against Russia could affect the business in Russia, where it holds a significant stake in state-owned firm Rosneft, BP warned.
BP group chief executive Bob Dudley said: "We are continuing to ramp up the major new projects that drive delivery of cash flow, and are also now seeing benefits from our focus on operating with greater reliability and efficiency.
"This operational momentum keeps us well on track to meet our 2014 targets and underpins our longer-term commitment to grow distributions to our shareholders."
