Oil price slump crushes profits at exploration and production arm, but profits at refining business more than double
BP’s first-quarter profits beat City forecasts battered by the falling oil price as the company recorded a one-off gain from the government’s changes to the taxation of North Sea oil operations.
The oil company said profit excluding non-operating items and accounting effects for the first three months of 2015 fell 20% to $2.6bn (£1.7bn).
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