BP profits nearly quadruple to $8.46bn while the Middle East conflict pushes UK diesel prices to all-time highs

BP's chief executive Meg O'Neill said refineries have been running "close to capacity" as the Iran war severed supply routes, driving underlying replacement cost profit to $8.46bn — nearly four times the $2.2bn posted a year ago and well above analyst forecasts of $7.33bn. Friends of the Earth's Danny Gross branded the haul "obscene" as households brace for a cold winter with diesel at record pump prices across the UK, Europe and the US.

Rival Shell more than doubled its own third-quarter profit to $12.1bn on Thursday, its highest quarterly haul since 2022.

BP halved its debt to $13.9bn and wrote down $5bn on its renewables arm, with analyst Ashley Kelty calling the green pivot "highly value destructive."