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BP Rakes In $11.6 Billion In Profits For 2012

Tuesday, February 5, 2013 12:13

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(Before It's News)

First published on ClimateProgress.org, a project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, which was recently named one of Time magazine’s Top 25 blogs of 2010.

By Jackie Weidman

Today, BP was the last of the Big Five Oil companies to announce its total 2012 earnings, raking in a net profit of $1.6 billion in the fourth quarter and bringing the company’s annual profits to $11.6 billion.

BP is one of the most profitable companies in the world, ranking fourth-highest on the Fortune 500 Global companies list. In November 2012, BP agreed to pay a $4.5 billion criminal fine -– the highest fine in U.S. history -– as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. The majority of the fine ($2.4 billion) will be used for restoration in the Gulf of Mexico, where 5 million barrels of oil flowed into the Gulf over 87 days. An estimated 1 million barrels of oil remain in the Gulf.

Below is a glimpse at how BP spent its billions in profits last year:

BP received an estimated $200 million in tax breaks last year, according to an analysis by the Center for American Progress.
BP spent $8.9 million lobbying Congress in 2012, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
BP spent nearly $450,000 on campaign contributions during the 2011-2012 election cycle.
Almost two-thirds of their contributions went to Republican candidates.
Meanwhile, BP’s oil production decreased by 8 percent, from 1.29 million barrels of net liquids (oil + natural gas) per day in 2011 to 1.18 million barrels per day in 2012.
BP is sitting on cash reserves totaling $19.5 billion.

High oil and gasoline prices contributed to another year of huge profits for the Big Five Oil Companies: BP plc, Chevron Corp, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil Corp, and the Royal Dutch Shell Group. These companies earned a combined $119 billion in profits in 2012, while collecting an estimated $2.4 billion in annual tax breaks. Average gas prices hit a record high last year, enriching the biggest oil companies while hurting consumers’ wallets.