Irish Examiner view: Oil firms accused of 'unfettered profiteering' as families struggle

Cost of electricity and gas bills for Irish households set to rise from €1,900 to €3,300 a year

Energy companies such as BP are continuing to enjoy massive profits. Picture: PA

With wholesale energy prices skyrocketing and the combined cost of electricity and gas bills for Irish households set to increase from €1,900 a year to something closer to €3,300 annually, the bumper €59bn profits being recorded this year by the world’s top five oil companies is a hard number for consumers to swallow.

One of the ‘big five’, BP has been accused of "unfettered profiteering", after it revealed this week underlying profits of €8.37bn between April and June this year alone thanks to high oil prices. This was the company’s biggest quarterly profit in 14 years and will result in some €4.7bn being handed to shareholders in bonuses.