BP's record £6.3billion profit in three months branded 'obscene' amid soaring household bills

BP's record £6.3billion profit in three months branded 'obscene' amid soaring household bills BP has become the latest oil and gas giant to announce a profit bonanza on the back of the Iran war, which has seen households' bills leap Energy giant BP has been blasted after revealing profits nearly quadrupled to a record £6.3billion in the past three months alone. The bonanza - driven by the fall-out from Donald Trump ’s war with Iran - came a day after rival Shell announced an £8.2bn haul. BP’s quarterly profits smashed analysts’ forecasts and came on the back of sky high wholesale oil and gas prices that, while delivering a windfall for producers, is causing misery for households through soaring energy and fuel bills. Tessa Khan, executive director of the anti fossil fuel group Uplift, said: “It’s galling that millions of people across the UK will be worrying about how to stay warm this winter, thanks to soaring oil and gas prices, while these companies are laughing all the way to the bank.” Campaign group Global Witness claimed BP’s bumper profits take the total from Europe’s six biggest oil firms to £66.4bn so far in 2026. Yet while the companies rake it in, households are reeling from an energy shock caused by the ongoing war in the Middle East. In the UK, motorists are feeling the impact every time they fill up, with diesel prices at a near record high and petrol also punishingly expensive. Energy bills have also shot up, with charities fearful of what will happen when prices rocket by a forecast 27% - almost £470 a year - in January. Chancellor John Healey used this week’s Budget to provide help through £100 for 20 million households in January, and delaying a planned rise in fuel duty. He resisted calls for oil firms to be landed with a new windfall tax. BP’s profits jumped to £6.31bn in the three months to the end of September, up from £1.65bn a year ago. It has made £13bn in the first nine months of the year. Boss Meg O’Neill - who is in line for a potential £13.7million payout this year - said the firm’s refineries have been “running close to capacity” to help keep oil supplies flowing as the Middle East conflict has caused massive disruption to energy and fuel markets worldwide, with the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping route remaining closed. The American, who become BP’s CEO in April, spent 23 years at US energy firm ExxonMobil. She is already guaranteed a £1.6m salary and nearly £500,000 towards her pension. But that could be turbo-charged by a maximum £3.6m annual bonus and a potential £8m long-term reward scheme for this year alone. Campaigners criticised oil companies for cashing in on the crisis as households face another painful winter of sky-high energy costs. Oil prices have been sent surging by the Iran war - now at $117 a barrel - as the crisis shows no sign of easing. Jonathan Noronha-Gant, from the Global Witness, said: “It is obscene that polluters are continuing to cash in on the fallout of the war in Iran, making more bumper profits from spiralling oil prices while innocent civilians suffer. These massive profits come as ordinary people across Europe are struggling with the rising cost of living, with many struggling to afford to heat their homes as winter arrives. Oil giants can and should pay much more for the damage they are doing to our planet.” Danny Gross, a climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “The Government must make energy affordable for everyone by removing the hidden taxes on electricity bills and forcing the worst climate offenders like BP to pay their fair share for the damage they cause to fund a faster, fairer transition to cheap, clean energy.” BP’s results showed it has made 17.4 billion dollars (£13 billion) in the first nine months of the year so far. Ms O’Neill said: “These are dynamic times with volatility and disruption to trade flows continuing to define energy markets. The industry as a whole has been showing remarkable adaptability. Refineries have been running close to capacity to make up for shortfalls, shipping has been taking different and longer routes, and releases from strategic and commercial reserves are helping to bridge supply gaps. I’m proud of the contribution BP is making to keep energy flowing.” Ms Khan said: “If Labour is truly serious about tackling the cost-of-living crisis and reindustrialising regions in decline, it must help us all get off expensive oil and gas by switching to renewables, and making sure that the job of building this new clean energy system goes to workers in this country. Burnham must put affordable energy, reindustrialisation and a safe climate before corporate profits and end the stranglehold that oil and gas firms have over our lives and economy.” Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “As households continue to face the reality of high energy prices this winter, the Government must step in to reform energy markets so they deliver value for consumers and not just returns for shareholders. The best time to deliver a fairer energy system was five years ago when the problems became apparent. The second best time is now so ministers don’t fail again to learn the lessons of the gas and oil price crisis.”