BP profits triple to £7bn as oil prices surge because of Ukraine war

Labour says government is totally wrong' to give tax breaks to oil companies amid cost of living crisis

BP will hand billions of pounds to shareholders after tripling its profits to nearly 7bn in the second quarter of the year amid high oil prices during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, even as families struggle in a cost of living crisis.

The FTSE 100 oil company on Tuesday said its preferred measure of profit, which it describes as its underlying replacement cost profit, rose to $8.5bn (6.9bn) between April and June. That is up from $6.2bn in the first three months of the year, and three times BP's underlying profits of $2.8bn in the second quarter of 2021.