As Gulf Coast Suffers, BP Profits Increase To $7.1 Billion

One year after BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, “the cleanup isn’t done,” but the foreign oil giant’s profits are back up on surging gas prices. “BP has not yet lived upto its legal, financial, or moral obligations to the Gulf and its residents,” says Antonia Juhasz, author of the book, Black Tide: the Devastating Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill. Sea turtles and dolphins keep dying, scientific research is stifled, and the spill still stains the Gulf Coast economy. Meanwhile, BP is contributing to pro-oil politicians and ramping up lobbying spending, fueled by$7.12 billion in first-quarter profits:

BP PLC posted a 17 percent increase in net profit for the first quarter as higher oil prices helped to offset continued costs stemming from the Deepwater Horizon oil-spill disaster last year. The U.K.-based energy giant said Wednesday net profit for the quarter was $7.12 billion, compared with $6.08 billion a year earlier. Total revenue for the quarter rose 18.7% to $88.31 billion from $74.42 billion.

“There were some quite hefty forecasts that BP could take the $41 billion [in spill charges to date] significantly higher,” but it only marked down an additional $400 million, said analyst Jason Kenney of ING. “There’ll be a sigh of relief on that one.”