Six months into the US-Iran war, the fighting has caused major disruption in global energy supplies. But while drivers, airlines and families are paying more for fuel, some of the world’s biggest oil companies are making record profits.
The biggest gains have come as war has badly disrupted oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
Before the war, around one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas moved through the narrow waterway. But the conflict has shut down most traffic through the route, cutting global supplies and pushing energy prices sharply higher.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose from around $70 a barrel to more than $100 during March, April and May. It briefly reached $126 a barrel.
The impact was felt far beyond oil markets. Some countries brought in petrol rationing, while government offices in Nepal and Sri Lanka were forced to close because of shortages. Australia also faced fuel restrictions at times.
Exxon and Chevron see profits soar
For major US oil companies, however, the supply crisis has turned into a huge financial gain. Exxon Mobil reported that its second-quarter profit doubled to $14.53 billion. The company said record diesel production helped drive the jump. Its revenue also rose 42 per cent to $116.02 billion, according to AP.
Chevron, the Houston-based company’s profit nearly quadrupled to $12.07 billion, while its revenue jumped 56 per cent to $70.06 billion.
The gains were not limited to US companies. Six of Europe’s biggest oil firms reported combined first-quarter profits of $22 billion, more than 40 per cent higher than a year earlier.
Still, not every refinery around the world has been able to get enough crude oil since the war began.
Timothy Fitzgerald, a professor of business economics at the University of Tennessee told AP that refineries with enough crude to keep operating have been making large profits. US refineries are among those benefiting, especially when they produce diesel and jet fuel. Prices for these fuels in the US are about 41 per cent higher than before the Strait of Hormuz was blocked.
“If you’re a company that owns a bunch of refinery capacity, things look pretty good,” Fitzgerald said.
American refineries are running close to full capacity. They are also in a strong position because some refineries in the Middle East and Russia have been damaged.
At the same time, Asian countries are struggling to get the amount of Middle Eastern oil they need for their refineries.
US refineries have an advantage
Oil producers are not the only companies making money from the crisis. Refineries have also seen a major jump in profits. Companies such as Exxon and Chevron are in a particularly strong position because they also own refineries.
Refineries take crude oil and turn it into products such as petrol, diesel, jet fuel and home heating oil. Higher prices for these products helped Chevron’s quarterly refining profit become six times larger in 2026, even though the company processed less crude and sold fewer products.
The huge profits have also led to calls for a new tax on major oil producers. Democrats in Congress introduced bills in March that would tax major oil companies on profits earned from 2026 onwards. The money raised would then be given back to consumers.
The average price of regular petrol in the US was below $3 a gallon before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran. By the end of July it had reached $4.11, around $1 more than at the same time last year.
Europe has already used windfall taxes
The US would not be the first country to tax oil companies when their profits rise sharply during a crisis.
The UK and other European countries introduced temporary windfall taxes on fossil fuel companies in 2022. The UK later extended its tax until 2030.
Exxon CEO Darren Woods has opposed such taxes. “Penalising the businesses who stood by those countries and provided that product going forward is very short-sighted,” Woods said during a call with investors on Friday.
“We cancelled investments that we had planned for Europe based on the last time they passed a windfall profits tax,” he added.
Higher fuel prices are not only hurting drivers and airline passengers. Since energy is used in almost everything, the higher costs can also make everyday goods more expensive. As Fitzgerald put it, consumers ultimately end up paying the price
Critics say oil companies are making money from a global crisis
The record profits have raised questions about who is benefiting from the war while ordinary people deal with higher costs.
Speaking to AP, Patrick Galey, fossil fuels lead at Global Witness said, oil producers were among those benefiting from the crisis. “There are constituencies around the world who are having a very good crisis, and the oil producers are one of them,” Galey said.
He pointed to the hundreds of millions of people dealing with power cuts, electricity restrictions, food shortages and problems with fertiliser supplies.
“When you compare that to the hundreds of millions of people who are struggling with rolling blackouts, with electricity curbs, rationing, waiting in line for food queues, or the disruption to fertilisers and the potential impact that that has on food prices, we don’t think that it’s a justifiable price for the rest of the world to be paying,” he said.