Higher oil prices boost the energy giant's results while environmental groups accuse it of profiteering.

Profits at BP have surged to the highest since 2022 after the war in the Middle East pushed up oil prices. The oil giant reported a profit of $5.73bn (£4.26bn) between April and June. That was more than double the $2.35bn made a year earlier and the highest quarterly profit since 2022 when the Russia-Ukraine war began. The price of crude oil has jumped since the outbreak of the Iran war earlier this year due to major disruption to global supplies of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz. Environmental and poverty campaigners blasted BP for "profiteering" off skyrocketing oil prices. Crude oil prices shot up after the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, which in turn pushed up petrol and diesel prices and domestic energy costs around the world. BP said Brent crude – the global benchmark for oil prices – averaged $103.85 a barrel in the April-to-June quarter, up from $67.88 in the same period last year. The rise in the oil price has benefited all energy companies, not just BP, with rival Shell also reporting a doubling in quarterly profits last week. On Monday, US President Donald Trump said American oil firms ExxonMobil and Chevron were "making too much money".