Eight of the world’s largest oil producers posted a combined $93 billion in profits in the second quarter of 2026, nearly double their earnings in the same period last year, as the Iran war and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices higher.
The eight companies assessed, Saudi Aramco, BP, Shell, Equinor, TotalEnergies, Eni, Chevron and ExxonMobil, saw their combined profits rise from just below $50 billion in Q2 2025 to over $90 billion in the three months from April to June 2026, following the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran and the subsequent closure of the strategic waterway between Oman and Iran.
Iran’s decision to close the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, has led to what industry reports describe as the biggest disruption of fossil fuel supplies in the market’s history, removing approximately 17.8 million barrels per day from circulation and representing around 25 per cent of seaborne oil trade.
Saudi Arabia’s Aramco benefited the most from the price increase over the spring, reporting a 33 per cent rise in its quarterly net income to $33.4 billion, despite damage to its infrastructure from drone and missile strikes by Iranian and Houthi forces. The company’s upstream adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) grew 14 per cent to $50.9 billion on realised prices of $108.1 per barrel.
British oil major BP reported a second-quarter profit of $5.73 billion, almost double that of the same period last year and its highest quarterly net profit since Q3 2022. Chevron posted $12 billion in adjusted earnings, including $8.2 billion from its upstream operations, marking its highest quarterly profit in at least six years and a 200 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
ExxonMobil led in absolute terms among Western majors with $14.5 billion in net profit for Q2 2026, followed by Chevron at $12.1 billion, Shell at $10.8 billion and TotalEnergies at strong double-digit billion-dollar earnings. Together, Exxon and Chevron generated roughly $26.6 billion in quarterly earnings, more than doubling their year-ago profits as the Strait of Hormuz closure spiked crude prices.
The Brent benchmark put oil prices at around $68 per barrel at the end of February 2026, rising to highs of nearly $100 per barrel in May before settling in the high $80s as the Hormuz disruption persisted. The five biggest Western energy majors, BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies, reported combined net profits of almost $47 billion for the April–June period, with the top five international oil companies generating almost $70 billion in free cash flow in Q2 2026, the largest amount on record.
The surge in profits has reignited debate around windfall taxes, as governments consider levies to help subsidise energy bills and environmentalists argue extra taxes could help pay to address climate damage caused by oil operations. U.S. President Donald Trump, despite his support for the oil and gas sector, criticised ExxonMobil and Chevron on 3 August for making “too much money” on high crude prices. “They’re making too much money based on a shortage,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I don’t like it, and I should be the last one to say because I’m a big free enterprise guy, nobody bigger.”
Patrick Galey, fossil fuel lead at the international NGO Global Witness, said: “BP’s sky-high profits are a scandalous reminder of who’s been cashing in on human misery this year. While wildfires threaten communities across the world, drought bites and energy costs spiral, ordinary families are paying the price for big oil’s prioritisation of shareholder wealth over a livable planet.”
Analyst firm Wood Mackenzie estimates the global oil and gas industry is on course for a cash windfall of $495 billion in 2026. In the U.S., lawmakers have proposed bills including a 50 per cent excise tax per barrel on the difference between current average Brent crude prices and the 2025 average of $69, and a more aggressive 100 per cent tax on the amount by which crude prices exceed $75 per barrel under the Iran War Oil Crisis Windfall Profits Tax Act.