£7bn petrol profits as prices bite
Updated on 29 April 2008
Bumper profits at BP and Shell while British consumers and business are forced to pay rising prices.
With oil trading at a record $120 a barrel, the profits of the oil companies were always going to increase. But today's figures from Shell and BP were remarkable.
Shell made nearly £4bn in profits in just three months. Their competitor BP saw profits rise nearly 50 per cent to £3.3bn.
George Bush called on Opec to pump more oil, but the major producers say it's not their fault that prices are surging, putting the blame on Western speculators.
And behind all this China's demand for oil is apparently rising relentlessly.
