Oil giant BP said today that it had benefited from higher oil prices as it reported quarterly profits of $5.3 billion.
The British firm had made a loss of $16.9 billion the same time a year ago - but this was in the aftermath of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.
The group said today that production was 11% lower in the period following suspension of drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and $25 billion worth of asset sales.
But this was offset by higher oil prices, driven up in the period by political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as higher refining margins - the difference between the value of crude oil and the products it is used for.
The Gulf of Mexico clean-up continued in the quarter - with $6.8 billion now paid out in claims and payments to fund economic and environmental restoration.
Oil prices began to climb early this year as political turmoil spread from Tunisia through Egypt and on to Libya. Supplies were constricted by civil war in Libya, which pushed prices even higher.
BP said the average cost of Brent crude in the period was $117.04 a barrel - a 50% increase compared with $78.24 the same time last year. The company also said it was benefiting from improved refining margins - up to 13% from 11%.
But BP warned that production in the third quarter - July to September - would continue to reflect its $30 billion divestment programme. The company has sold assets in the US, Argentina, Egypt, Venezuela, Vietnam and Colombia to meet its Gulf of Mexico bill.
BP said it is making strategic progress, purchasing exploration blocks in Brazil, securing operations in Azerbaijan and signing an alliance deal with India's Reliance Industries.
But it was dealt a major blow in May when it failed to secure a share swap and Arctic exploration deal with Russian oil group Rosneft. The failure piled further pressure on chief executive Bob Dudley, who is trying to turn around the group following last year's fatal Deepwater Horizon explosion.
'BP is a company that is changing rapidly. Having stabilised the company while living up to our commitments in the US, we will now increase our focus on performance and long-term value creation,' Mr Dudley said.
'We are committed to seeing the true value of the business more strongly reflected in our share price,' he added.
