Oil giant BP has announced that its profits have tripled to £6.9billion ($8.45billion) in the second quarter of this year - its highest in 14 years - as millions of families across the country struggle amid soaring energy bills.
Oil giant BP has announced that its profits have tripled to £6.9billion ($8.45billion) in the second quarter of this year – its highest in 14 years – as millions of families across the country struggle amid soaring energy bills.
That means BP’s half-year profits are $14.6bn. News of BPs record profits also comes after British gas owner Centrica along with Shell also announced record profits last week.
The profits come amid a cost of living crisis driven by soaring energy bills, with more than 8 million households, one in three in the UK – expected to be in fuel poverty following October’s price cap increase, according to National Energy Action (NEA) – the national fuel poverty charity.
Meanwhile British households face annual energy bills of £3,850, three times what they were paying at the start of 2022.
News of the record profits while millions struggle was met with much backlash.
The Trade Unions Congress said that BP’s profits were an ‘insult to families struggling to get by’.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Every family should get a fair price for the energy they need. But with energy bills rising much faster than wages, these profits are an insult to families struggling to get by.
“For a fair approach to the cost of living crisis, price hikes and profits should be held back. Ministers must do more to get wages rising across the economy. And we should bring energy retail firms into public ownership so we can reduce bills for basic energy needs.”
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves tweeted: “People are worried sick about energy prices rising again in the autumn, but yet again we see eye-watering profits for oil and gas producers.
“Labour argued for months for a windfall tax to help bring bills down, but when the Tories finally u-turned they decided to hand billions of pounds back to producers in tax breaks.
“It’s clear people need greater protection from rising bills. That’s why Labour would use this money now to help people get through the winter.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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