Oil giant BP today announced half-year profits of £6.75 billion sterling, an increase of 23% on a year earlier. The profits will add to anger among hauliers across Europe over soaring costs as millions of motorists also feel pain from rising forecourt prices.
The results were driven by the rocketing cost of crude oil over the period - finishing June at nearly $144 a barrel.
UK union leaders have called for a windfall tax on the profits of both BP and fellow major Royal Dutch Shell.
BP, however, says that it makes less than one pence in profit on every litre of petrol it sells at its 1,300 filling stations across the UK. In response to calls for a windfall tax, the company adds that it paid $14.5 billion (£7.3 billion) in taxes worldwide last year.
The half-year figure converts to a profits haul of £37m a day, or £1.5m an hour.
The results were inflated by the company's performance in exploration and production, with profits ahead 51% to £5.41 billion in the second quarter.
In refining and marketing, earnings for the three months to June 30 were down to £271m. It said higher energy costs continued to impact margins in the division.
Under chief executive Tony Hayward - who took over from Lord Browne last year - the group has been looking to boost the efficiency of its refineries.
Meanwhile, a row over its Russian joint venture TNK-BP is overshadowing the group.
TNK-BP chief executive Robert Dudley last week decided to leave Russia temporarily due to 'sustained harassment' following an increasingly bitter dispute between the venture's Russian shareholders and BP management in the UK and has been running the business from a secret location.
Mr Hayward's stated aim is to close the gap on Shell after last year's profits tumbled by more than a fifth to £8.76 billion as problems with its US refineries continued to dog the business. In February the company announced plans to cull 5,000 of its 97,000 employees in a bid to streamline the company.
