Oil giant BP has announced another record rise in profits. The company made nearly $10bn (£6.4bn) between July and September, an increase of 148 per cent compared to the same period last year.
BP’s chief executive, Tony Hayward, acknowledged that high oil prices had helped to boost results, but also claimed that more efficient refining and cost-cutting were partially responsible.
The company’s downstream operations, including its petrol sales business, reported a 70 per cent increase in profits.
BP and other major oil companies have faced heavy criticism from UK consumers for not passing on quickly enough the falls in the price of crude oil.
The price of petrol and diesel has been falling on British forecourts over the last two weeks, but industry analysts have warned that the price is likely to rise again in the run-up to Christmas.
