BP has reported an “obscene” quarterly profit of $8.46 billion (£6.3 billion), marking its highest earnings since 2008. The energy giant’s underlying replacement cost profit for the three months ending in September nearly quadrupled compared to the $2.2 billion recorded during the same period last year. BP’s quarterly profits have been labelled “obscene” after they hit an 18-year high of $8.46bn (£6.3bn), as the war in the Middle East drove up oil and gas prices. With its underlying replacement cost profit – a key measure of its income – almost quadrupling in the three months to the end of September, from $2.2bn in the same period a year ago, the energy company hailed a “banner quarter” on Friday. The jump meant BP’s quarterly profits hit their highest level since the $8.9bn recorded in 2008. We also had very strong underlying performance, we had very strong margins from the BP-operated refineries. BP’s strong results also come as motorists in the UK face high fuel prices, with diesel now at 198.79p a litre, according to estimates from the RAC. With an average price of 172.92p a litre, compared with 132.83p in late February, before the latest conflict in the Middle East began, the cost of petrol has also risen.
Chief executive Meg O’Neill described the results as a “banner quarter” for the company’s refining division. The surge in earnings was primarily driven by widened margins in the oil refining business, where BP earned nearly $47 for every barrel produced by capitalizing on price discrepancies between crude oil and refined products like gasoline and diesel. We were able to capture the opportunity provided by the market.”.
This financial windfall reflects broader trends in the energy sector, following similar record-breaking reports from Shell and TotalEnergies. While global oil prices remain below the peak levels seen during the 2022 energy crisis, supply chain disruptions in the Gulf and Russia have forced pump prices for diesel and petrol to record highs across the UK, Europe, and the United States.
The announcement has sparked immediate backlash from climate activists and advocacy groups. Jonathan Noronha-Gant of Global Witness condemned the profits as “obscene,” arguing that energy firms are “cashing in on the fallout of the war in Iran” while civilians face severe economic hardship. Friends of the Earth campaigner Danny Gross criticized the company for prioritizing oil and gas production while simultaneously cutting investment in renewable energy projects. Danny Gross, of Friends of the Earth, said: “As millions of households brace themselves for a cold winter, huddling under blankets and clutching hot-water bottles as they struggle to pay their bills, BP is raking in huge.
The findings arrive just over a week before diplomats gather in Antalya, Turkey, for the UN Cop31 climate summit. Infernos tore through forests and brush in parched rural areas, as people in cities sweltered.
Campaigners such as Clémence Dubois from 350.org emphasized that the climate crisis is not a future threat, but an immediate reality characterized by deadly heatwaves, damaged livelihoods, and rising insecurity. According to however, climate crisis campaigners, It was outrageous that BP was profiting so handsomely on commodities causing serious damage to the environment.
Research from the past year has directly linked carbon emissions from major fossil fuel companies to increased heat-related mortality, with recent data suggesting a record 50,000 excess deaths across Europe this summer. Recent climate-linked disasters such as the devastating floods in Nepal will be at the forefront of many delegates’ minds. The weather phenomenon is likely to be the most extreme of its kind in at least 1,000 years, dumping vast amounts of extra heat into an atmosphere already warmed by climate breakdown.
The extreme weather conditions, including record-breaking forest fires in France and Scotland, are occurring alongside warnings of a major El Niño event in the Pacific that could reach temperatures 3C higher than normal. Despite these environmental warnings, energy policy remains a point of contention in the UK, where Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh is currently evaluating the potential for further drilling in the North Sea’s Rosebank oilfield. Such as the Cairngorms in Scotland, france experienced its largest area burned on record and fires blazed in usually cooler regions.
As winter approaches, many households are struggling with the dual burden of high energy bills and the rising cost of living, with many finding it difficult to afford basic heating. BP’s latest financial performance highlights the tension between the energy industry’s profitability and the ongoing transition toward clean energy as international leaders prepare to address these global challenges at the upcoming climate summit. Which have sought to stymie calls for a transition to clean energy, there are likely to be tensions with fossil fuel producing countries.
