Soaring prices for oil and gas triggered by the war in Iran are generating a surge of corporate profits for multinational energy companies, with Shell disclosing early Thursday morning it saw a $9.8 billion windfall between April and June.
The profit is double Shell’s earnings for the same quarter last year. Not since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has the British firm seen earnings so high.
The oil major is the latest to report windfall profits at the same time drivers are struggling with gas prices averaging more than $4 per gallon at the pump. But the companies are reluctant to invest billions of dollars in expanded drilling.
On Friday morning, U.S. oil giants Exxon and Chevron will reveal their own profits from the last quarter, which are also expected to approach company records.
Last week, French oil giant Total Energies reported its quarterly income had jumped to $6 billion — a 68% increase over the same quarter last year.
The profits are driven by oil prices that are substantially higher than before the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February.
With a resolution to the war continuing to elude the White House, analysts warn drivers will continue to pay high prices at the pump for the foreseeable future. If that goes on, oil companies are likely to see yet another windfall in the current quarter.
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