BP’s profits surged in the first three months of the year to their highest since mid-2014, driven by a recovery in oil and gas prices and rapid growth in production. At the same time, the London-based company saw its debt pile rise to $40 billion due to the settlement of more lawsuits over the deadly 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico which has cost it more than $65 billion. A nearly 25 percent rise in oil prices over the past year has lifted revenue for oil companies, shifting investors’ focus to how much cash they can generate following years of cost cuts. BP shares were 0.7 percent higher at 0750 GMT, compared with a 0.2 percent gain in the European oil and gas index. BP’s […]