News

BP non-executive director Sir William Castell spent more than £200,000 on shares in the oil giant today, his second big purchase since joining the board in 2006.

Sir William, who chairs BP's safety, ethics and environment assurance committee, bought 32,500 shares at 615.5p each. It lifts his holding to 82,500 shares following a purchase of 50,000 shares last June at 587p each.

BP shares have gained around 15% over the past month, helped by profit for the first quarter of 2008 rising to $7.6bn from $4.7bn in the same period last year. While crude oil production fell slightly, to 818m barrels of oils a day from 832m, the company reaped the rewards of higher oil prices. The price of a barrel of crude oil hit $100 in January and has since moved past $123.

Sir William was chief executive at pharmaceuticals group Amersham until it was acquired by US conglomerate General Electric in 2004. He was appointed chief executive of the company's medical and biosciences arm GE Healthcare, but stepped down in 2006.

Top Director Buys

Independent Investment Trust (IIT)
Director name: Mr D C P McDougall
Amount purchased: 255,000 @ 194.20p
Value: £495,210

BP (BP.)
Director name: Sir Sir William Castell
Amount purchased: 32,500 @ 615.50p
Value: £200,038

Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI)
Director name: Mr David E Reid
Amount purchased: 50,000 @ 277.50p
Value: £138,750

Imperial Energy Corporation (IEC)
Director name: Mr John Hamilton
Amount purchased: 2,800 @ 883.50p
Value: £24,738

Imperial Energy Corporation (IEC)
Director name: Mrs Ekaterina Kirsanova
Amount purchased: 2,500 @ 883.50p
Value: £22,088

Robert Walters (RWA)
Director name: Mr Martin Griffiths
Amount purchased: 12,000 @ 167.00p
Value: £20,040

Top Director Sells

RGI International (RGI)
Director name: Mr Jacob Kriesler
Amount sold: 900,000 @ $8.01
Value: $7,209,000

Carnival (CCL)
Director name: Mr Richard G Capen Jr
Amount sold: 802 @ 2,069.89p
Value: £16,601