BP back in profit

After making significant losses over the last eight months, oil giant BP has just recorded its first monthly profit.

BP had made consistent loses since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster that saw the loss of eight lives and hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil being spilt in the Gulf of Mexico.

Between April and June the firm recorded losses of $17bn, but the cost profit for the period in the three months up to September was $1.85bn.

The previous loses can of course be attributed to the oil spill, with new chief executive recently stating that the company have now spent $39.9bn on clean-up costs and compensation claims. The news of the profit was received well by the financial markets and BP’s share price actually rose by 6% when it was announced. This can also be attributed in part to the company’s new theme promoting itself with safety as a priority.

Only last week, investigators in the United States of America said that the cement that was used to seal the well could have played a contributory factor in the explosion. The cement contractor Halliburton had done tests on the cement and discovered that the compound used was unstable. Halliburton however said the tests were invalid as they were on a different type of cement. The row rumbles on.