Iran war doubles profits of European oil companies

While European households struggled to pay their energy bills, the continent’s oil companies more than doubled their profits in the last quarter, benefiting from the advantages of the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Exactly eight months after American and Israeli forces began bombing Iran, the price of Brent crude oil stood at $115 on Oct 29, compared to $72 before the war. Dated Brent, the actual spot price buyers pay for Brent cargoes in the North Sea, was even higher at $120.

This price surge has driven the cost of gasoline, diesel, and heating oil to record highs across Europe. However, it has been a windfall for Europe’s largest oil companies, as revealed by the quarterly profit figures compiled by Germany’s Der Spiegel on Oct 29.

British oil and gas giant Shell recorded a profit of $12.1 billion between July and September – more than double that of the previous quarter and the same quarter of the previous year. Between July and September 2025, Shell achieved a profit of $5.43 billion.

France’s TotalEnergies increased its profits by 127 percent to $9.1 billion during the same period, while Spain’s Repsol saw an almost fivefold increase from $640.7 million to $3.1 billion. Austria’s OMV, meanwhile, boosted its profits by 68 percent to $2.36 billion.

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil and his counterparts from Austria, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain have called for an EU-wide excess profit tax for oil companies, similar to the “solidarity levy” that Brussels introduced after the escalation of the Ukraine war in 2022.

“The Commission has been very reluctant on this issue, even though several member states have long been calling for the submission of models,” said Klingbeil after a meeting of EU finance ministers in Ireland in September. “This needs to occur at the latest at the next meeting [of finance ministers] in October,” he added.

The European Commission rejected Klingbeil’s proposal, and October passed without Brussels taking any action. “It’s in the hands of the member states,” EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters. “Member states can take the lead and decide for themselves on the taxation of excess profits.”

Although exports from the Gulf region have reportedly recovered to 80 percent of pre-war levels, Houthi attacks on Saudi energy facilities and shipping, the threat of sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, and warnings of an “intense” new US military campaign against Iran have all contributed to keeping oil prices almost double their level from the beginning of February. And the winners are the energy companies, while the losers are the populations who pay the price of heating during this winter.

yogaesoteric
November 3, 2026