Energy giant BP said yesterday that first-quarter net profits leapt 17 percent to US$7.124 billion as oil prices surged, one year after being hit by the US oil disaster.
BP added in a results statement that last year’s devastating Gulf of Mexico spill would cost it US$41.3 billion, compared with the previous estimate of US$40.9 billion.
And owing to the increased charge, BP’s adjusted profits — which also strip out the impact of changes in the value of inventories — fell by 2 percent to US$5.481 billion in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, group sales rose by almost 19 percent to US$88.3 billion. Total oil and gas production fell by 11 percent to 3.58 million barrels per day in the reporting period.
World oil prices surged in the first three months of this year, boosted by simmering tensions and violent unrest in the Middle East and North Africa region. However, the market remains significantly below record high prices of above US$147 per barrel, which were reached in July 2008.
Last year, BP had reported its first annual loss in almost two decades as a result of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.
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